EDAMA Association held its trademark event the power breakfast on 10 FEB 2019, Sunday. The event took place at the Intercontinental Hotel – Amman. The discussion panel hosted H.E. Eng. Raed Abu-Soud, moderated by EDAMA Chairman of the Board – Dr. Dureid Mahasneh.
H.E begun the discussion by mentioning, the most significant Strategic projects that the Ministry of Water & Irrigation will be conducting, to ensure that each Jordanian household will be secured with water. Projects such as, the red to dead project, furthermore, the national carrier, which will be extending from the South to the North of Jordan. Moreover, the desalination of Hussban Wells, also, planning further construction of wells around Jordan. Finally, off-grid PV systems for wastewater treatment plants.
H.E. confirmed the importance of keeping an open dialogue between the public and the private sector, as the Ministry of water and irrigation is eager to involve the private sector, in the water sector development since 2000. The current status of this collaboration is a considerable 13 undergoing projects that are a joint venture. It is also worth mentioning that, some of the most significant projects, were founded by the private sector such as; the Dissi project and the Samra project, additionally,
H.E. expressed that the ministry’s willingness to cooperate with the private sector and adopt solutions that will contribute to reducing the value of the Jordanian energy bill, he also stated that, there are many challenges facing the sector, being the high demand on our water networks in comparison to the limited resources, whereas, some damps even in the wet seasons, only store up to 30% of the total storage capacity, which might impact energy storage obtained through water pumping.
EDAMA chairman, Dr. Dureid Mahasneh, stated that there are crucial challenges in the water sector of Jordan, the challenges are quantitative and qualitative. We were able to control the qualitative and distribute the quantity available. Yet, the pressure on the resources exceeds the quantities of water being provided for the Jordanian citizens, as our water resources are sufficient for 2 million, while it is being utilized by 11 million citizens. Additionally, investing in desalination efforts, and concentrating on the national carrier, and Red to dead projects.
The event attendees raised significant questions, in an intriguing discussion that addressed the adoption of RE projects in the water sector, practical steps moving forward, in order to adapt to climate change, the Ministry’s role in arranging for coordinating with farmers, and efficient management of water demands.
It is worth mentioning, that EDAMA power breakfast is a prominent series of events that take place in Jordan, they bring together the public and the private sector, in addition to key players to discuss the latest updates.
