meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Jordan water project enters critical phase

11 January 2024

Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editor

Jordan’s national water carrier programme, previously known as the Aqaba-Amman water desalination and conveyance project, achieved a major milestone in December when a developer consortium submitted a bid to develop the project.

It is a much-anticipated water infrastructure project to alleviate the kingdom’s gaping water scarcity issue.

Jordan has only 97 cubic metres of water available per capita annually, less than one-fifth of the absolute water scarcity threshold of 500 cu m/capita a year, according to the World Bank.

The project has so far received pledges in the form of loans and grants from financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank, the EU and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

These total roughly $730m in loans and $107m in grants, far smaller than the total investment the project requires.

Notably, in 2022, the heads of Jordan’s Planning Ministry and Water Ministry confirmed that the pledges and commitments at the time reached a total of $2.2bn, although a breakdown was not published.

A source close to the project says there are no legal obstacles to awarding the contract to the single bidder, “provided the client finds the price acceptable”.

The bidding team comprises Paris-headquartered Meridiam, a shareholder in Suez, Vinci, also of France, and Egypt’s Orascom.

The proposed levelised water cost for the project has not been disclosed.

Some prequalified bidders have told MEED they did not bid for the contract due to potential challenges in obtaining financing for the project, which is estimated to cost between $2bn and $3.5bn depending on its final configuration.

The build-operate-transfer project is Jordan’s single largest planned infrastructure scheme to date. It will pipe water from the southern coast to the country’s northern regions.

The desalination component of the project will have the capacity to treat 835,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of water, of which 250,000 cm/d to 300,000 cm/d are expected to be transported to the capital Amman.

The conveyance segment of the project includes the construction of a seawater intake pump station, reservoir, pipeline, booster pump stations and freshwater collection pipes.

The project is expected to use clean energy in line with the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An estimated 1.6 million people, roughly a 10th of the kingdom’s population, are expected to benefit from improved water services through the project. 

It is not the only project planned to alleviate Jordan’s worsening water woes, which result from population growth, the influx of refugees, and leaking, ageing pipes.

In June, the World Bank approved a $250m financing to improve and rehabilitate Jordan’s water distribution network. An estimated 50 per cent of Jordan’s municipal water is considered non-revenue water (NRW), meaning it either leaks from pipes or is not paid for by the consumer.

Water levels in the country’s 14 major dams are also understood to sit at about 43 million cubic metres – roughly a 10th of their total capacity of 336.4 million cubic metres.

Jordan’s treaty with Syria to import water has fallen through, with Syria rejecting the latest request to import 30 million cubic metres of water.

Its only other water source is Israel, with whom it signed a peace treaty in 1994. Under this deal, Israel agreed to provide Jordan with 55 million cubic metres of water a year. In 2021, Israel agreed to supply Jordan with an additional 50 million cubic metres of water outside the framework of the 1994 treaty.

In late 2022, Jordan and Israel signed a water-for-energy deal brokered by the UAE and US. Under the plan, Jordan will build a 600MW solar power plant and export the capacity to Israel. In return, Israel will provide Jordan with 200 million cubic metres of desalinated water.

The project appeared to be advancing in 2023 before the Israel/Hamas conflict began on 7 October.  

Jordan said in November that it would not sign the deal, which leaves Jordan’s water problem unsolved until the water national carrier project is completed – assuming it is successfully awarded, financed and developed – in three or four years’ time. 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11429011/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Hormuz crisis revives 1970s-style energy shock

    5 May 2026

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Read the May issue of MEED Business Review

    The conflict with Iran is threatening to recalibrate the global energy system. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused an energy security crisis reminiscent of the shocks of the 1970s – both in scale and in its potential long-term implications.

    The 1973-74 energy crisis, triggered by an Opec oil embargo, sent prices soaring and altered the trajectory of the global economy. It spurred the creation of the International Energy Agency, the development of strategic petroleum reserves and a wave of energy-efficiency policies. It also cemented energy-for-security arrangements between the West and the Gulf – relationships now being tested again by the latest conflict.

    Today’s disruption – 11 million barrels of oil a day and around 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping capacity – creates a deficit that far exceeds the roughly 5 million barrels a day removed from the market in 1973. 

    While the shocks of the 1970s ushered in a decade of stagflation and a lasting shift towards diversified supply, the current crisis could accelerate demand destruction and a pivot towards energy sovereignty.

    The story is a developing one. From Vietnam’s cancellation of LNG projects in favour of renewables to the surge in electric vehicle adoption across Europe, the perceived unreliability of traditional supply routes is forcing an unprecedented reorientation of capital. 

    The Middle East – long the indispensable heartbeat of global industry – now risks sustained challenges to its market share as producers in the US, Russia, Africa and South America develop new projects unencumbered by reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

    The structural changes taking root in 2026, like those in 1974, will outlive the conflict itself. Even a swift cessation of hostilities may not allow markets to return to their pre-conflict norms. 

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

     

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16685390/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Brookfield to double down on Gulf investment

    5 May 2026

    Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt has said the asset and alternative investment management company intends to increase its investments in the Gulf, despite the ongoing conflict in the region.

    When asked whether the war is changing the way he thinks about the Gulf region during an interview with CNBC at the Milken Institute Global Conference on 4 May, he said: “No, short answer no – in fact, [we’re] doubling down, we are doing more.

    “When you find great businesses, countries, great people, and the market offers you an opportunity to invest when others are not, it is always the best opportunity in the world, so we are doing more. We have been there for 25 years; we are continuing to do all of the investments we have there, and we are going to do more.”

    Flatt suggested the current period of geopolitical stress could accelerate long-term economic strengthening across the Gulf, arguing that governments and businesses will respond by investing in self-sufficiency and strategic infrastructure. “They will eventually build better countries because of this,” he said.

    Flatt added: “They’re going to build resiliency in all their systems. They’re going to build their own artificial intelligence (AI). They’re going to build their own pipelines to the coast. They’re going to do things they didn’t do before. They have to do it. They probably should have, but they’re going to now, and they’re going to be more resilient.”

    UAE meetings

    Flatt has also travelled to the region since the conflict began on 28 February, meeting senior UAE officials to discuss investment opportunities and deepen cooperation. In Abu Dhabi on 9 April, he met Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The meeting explored ways to strengthen cooperation in investment and asset management between UAE-based institutions and Brookfield, in line with global economic trends and evolving market demands.

    Two days later in Dubai, Flatt met Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). During the meeting, both sides explored opportunities to expand cooperation, highlighting the UAE and Dubai’s value proposition for global investors, including an integrated financial system, a flexible and advanced regulatory environment and world-class digital infrastructure. Discussions also covered Dubai’s role as a bridge between East and West, and the emirate’s emphasis on long-term partnerships and a transparent, business-friendly environment.

    Qatar partnership

    Brookfield’s regional activities are not limited to the UAE. In late 2025, the firm and Qai – Qatar’s AI company and a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority – announced a strategic partnership to establish a $20bn joint venture focused on AI infrastructure in Qatar and select international markets. The venture is expected to support Qatar’s ambition to become a hub for AI services and infrastructure in the Middle East. It is slated to be backed through Brookfield’s Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund, part of a broader AI infrastructure programme targeting up to $100bn in global investment.

    Brookfield Infrastructure maintains a vast and diversified global portfolio characterised by high-barrier-to-entry assets across five core sectors. The data infrastructure segment has become a primary growth engine, currently comprising 150 data centres with significant operating capacity and about 308,000 operational telecom sites. In the utility and energy midstream space, the firm manages over 1,900 miles of electric transmission lines and a network of 2,100 miles of gas pipelines. The transport sector is another cornerstone of the portfolio, anchored by 22,500 miles of rail operations.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16686052/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Oman seeks adviser for hydrogen-based IPP

    5 May 2026

    Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (PWP) has issued a tender for technoeconomic consultancy services for power generation using green hydrogen.

    The offtaker said it intends to appoint a consultant to undertake an initial assessment for the development of a new independent power project (IPP).

    The plant is expected to be capable of operating on up to 100% hydrogen with an indicative generation capacity in the range of 800MW to 1,000MW.

    The bid submission deadline is 21 June.

    To date, hydrogen deployment has focused mainly on production and export projects, while power generation activity remains largely limited to pilot schemes rather than utility-scale, fully hydrogen-fired plants.

    According to a typical IPP development timeline spanning feasibility, procurement, financing and construction, the potential plant would be unlikely to enter operation before the early 2030s.

    Nama PWP also recently issued a separate consultancy tender seeking services to support ESG policy development.

    The deadline for firms to submit offers is 10 May.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16683857/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • NCP seeks firms for healthcare PPP project

    5 May 2026

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Defence and the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) have issued an expression of interest and request for qualification (RFQ) notice for the Chronic Kidney Disease Care and National Dialysis Services project.

    The notice was issued on 4 May, with a submission deadline of 15 June.

    The project will be delivered as a public-private partnership (PPP) under a design, repurpose, finance and maintain (DRFM) model, with a six-year contract term.

    NCP said the initiative supports Saudi Vision 2030 by increasing private sector participation in the healthcare sector.

    The project is structured into four packages, each covering a minimum number of patients across multiple regions to ensure wide geographic reach and improved access.

    Selected operators will be required to provide the necessary facilities, equipment and information technology systems, as well as supply qualified personnel. They will also manage clinical services – including in-centre haemodialysis, home haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, vascular access and outpatient services – alongside non-clinical operations.

    In January, Saudi Arabia launched a National Privatisation Strategy, which aims to mobilise $64bn in private sector capital by 2030.

    The strategy builds on the privatisation programme first introduced in 2018. It will focus on unlocking state-owned assets for private investment and privatising selected government services.

    In a statement, NCP said the new strategy comprises 147 opportunities drawn from a broader pipeline of more than 500 projects across 18 sectors.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16683825/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Iranian drone attack on Fujairah oil hub injures three

    5 May 2026

    The UAE has accused Iran of attacking the country with a new barrage of missiles and drones, setting an oil facility ablaze in the emirate of Fujairah and wounding three Indian nationals.

    The UAE’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences “engaged” a total of 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran on 4 May.

    The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “in the strongest terms the renewed terrorist, unprovoked Iranian attacks targeting civilian sites and facilities”.

    The foreign ministry statement added that the UAE will not tolerate any threat to its security and sovereignty, and warned that the country reserves the “full and legitimate right to respond” to the attacks.

    Earlier in the day, a crude oil tanker affiliated with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) was hit by two drones in waters off the UAE and Oman, while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

    The attacks on 4 May mark the first on the UAE since Iran and the US agreed to a ceasefire on 8 April, with peace talks remaining deadlocked.

    Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and the US has imposed a naval blockade in response.

    On 3 May, US President Donald Trump said the US would begin escorting ships through the strait from the following day. US Central Command said it would use guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members.

    Iran’s unified military command warned commercial ships against accepting the US offer and said American forces “will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz”.

    Fujairah Oil Industry Zone attacks

    The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) has suffered at least half a dozen attacks since March, after the war between Iran and the US broke out on 28 February.

    Fujairah benefits from its strategic geopolitical location outside the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally passes.

    Major midstream oil and gas companies operate key storage and export hubs for oil and refined products in Fujairah, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), Saudi Aramco – through its subsidiary Aramco Trading – Vopak Horizon, VTTI, Shell, Fujairah Oil Terminal, Brooge Petroleum & Gas Investment Company (BPGIC), Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Ecomar, Mount Row and GPS Chemoil.

    Fujairah is crucial to the operations of Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Onshore, which operates a main oil terminal (MOT) there. Located approximately 300 kilometres north of Abu Dhabi, the terminal facilitates the import and export of various crude oil grades, particularly Murban, from the company’s onshore and offshore fields.

    Additionally, the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (Adcop) connects milestone pole (MP) 21 at the Habshan oil facility in Abu Dhabi, where stabilised crude produced from Adnoc Onshore fields is gathered for dispatch, to the Fujairah MOT.

    BPGIC is an oil storage and services firm that was established in 2013 in Fujairah and started operations with a capacity of 400,000 cubic metres spanning 14 tanks. In March 2022, it announced its intention to increase the storage capacity of four of those storage tanks in the first phase complex.

    Separately, in September 2021, BPGIC began operations at the second phase of its Fujairah oil storage complex, adding 600,000 cubic metres of storage capacity across eight tanks. As a result of that expansion, BPGIC’s storage capacity more than doubled to 1 million cubic metres, or 6.3 million barrels, from 400,000 cubic metres.

    BPGIC then undertook a third expansion phase of its oil storage facility, which is understood to have been commissioned in 2023.

    The third phase increased BPGIC’s oil storage capacity by 3.5 times, raising it to 3.5 million cubic metres, or 22 million barrels, and making the firm the largest oil storage services provider in the UAE emirate of Fujairah.

    The third-phase expansion project consists of an oil storage facility with a capacity of 2.5 million cubic metres, a modular 25,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) refinery, and a larger 180,000-b/d conventional refinery.

    BPGIC also co-owns a topping refinery in Fujairah with Nigeria-based Sahara Energy Resources, which produces low-sulphur bunker fuel for ships and vessels. It is understood that the new naphtha upgradation unit could be integrated with the existing topping refinery unit.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16683608/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen