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USAid shut down does not impact Amman-Aqaba project

7 February 2025

 

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US President Donald Trump’s plan to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAid) will have a limited impact on several projects in Jordan that the organisation is partially financing.

USAid and the US International Development Finance Corporation provided support and advice for the kingdom’s largest infrastructure project to date, the estimated $2bn Aqaba-Amman water conveyance and desalination (AAWCD) build, operate and transfer (BOT) scheme.

USAid, however, is not funding the AAWCD itself, which means there may be no material impact on the project, according to an industry source.

Jordan’s Ministry of Water & Irrigation (MWI) awarded the 26-year BOT contract to develop the project to a consortium led by the Paris-based investment and utility firms Meridiam and Suez in January.

The project’s water desalination plant will have the capacity to treat 300,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), extendable to up to 835,000 cm/d, using reverse osmosis-based technology.

It also includes 450 kilometres of pipelines to transport desalinated water from the Gulf of Aqaba to Amman.

In addition to Meridiam and Suez, the developer consortium includes Egypt’s Orascom Construction and France’s Vinci Construction Grands Projets.

The developer team expects to reach financial close for the project this year, a source close to the project previously told MEED.

Other healthcare and school projects in Jordan are being planned or funded with the support of USAid, including the estimated $10m Princess Muna Al-Hussein Maternity Hospital in Amman’s King Hussein Medical Centre.

According to Pew Research, Jordan received the fourth-largest amount of USAid support in 2023, estimated at $1.7bn.

Ukraine and Israel received the largest amount of aid, valued at $16.6bn and $3.3bn, respectively.

Egypt trailed Jordan, receiving $1.4bn of aid in 2023.

READ THE FEBRUARY MEED BUSINESS REVIEW

Trump unleashes tech opportunities; Doha achieves diplomatic prowess and economic resilience; GCC water developers eye uptick in award activity in 2025.

Published on 1 February 2025 and distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the February MEED Business Review includes:

> WATER & WASTEWATER: Water projects require innovation
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13373371/main0649.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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