Jordan to select developer for mega water project in April

The Jordanian ministry of water and irrigation is expected to select a developer for its proposed Jordan Red Sea Project (JRSP) in April 2012.

Jordan Times quoted a spokesman from the ministry as saying that the project aims to desalinate water from the Red Sea and help replenish the Dead Sea.

In 2011, a total of six groups submitted bids for the rights to build the mega-project which seeks to address the country’s severe water shortage.

The consortia are Accionna-Mitsubishi, ACWA Power, Jordan Red Sea Group, Orascom Construction Industries, Samsung C&T Corporation and Sinohydro Corporation. Two consortia which have not been identified were selected from the six which submitted technical and financial offers to be reviewed.

The project entails extracting 1.2 billion cubic metres (mcm) of water from the Red Sea every year.

About 930mcm of water will be desalinated and the rest will be channelled into the shrinking Dead Sea, and 180MW of electricity will be generated by projected hydropower stations. In June, the ministry will develop a plan to implement the first phase of the project.

As part of the first phase of the project a desalination facility, to be built in Aqaba, will receive water through pipelines from the Red Sea. The desalinated water will be distributed to the port city and surrounding development projects.

Jordan is categorised as the fourth poorest nation in the world in terms of water availability, suffering an annual water deficit of 500mcm.