Jordan and al-Wahda dam
Jordan, Politics, 4/28/2000

Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Kamel Mahadin has described the construction of al-Wahda dam on the al-Yarmouk river as one of Jordan's water strategy priorities in addition to the al-Dese water project in the southern part of the country.

In a press conference he held in Amman on Wednesday, Mahadin indicated that some 80% of the total cost of al-Wahda dam has been ensured and that all measures have been taken to declare the bids for implementing this project. He expected that these bids will be announced for international companies by August or September.

He stated that the al-Wahda dam will ensure a storage capacity of 51 million cubic meters for irrigation purposes and another 50 million cubic meters of potable water. He said its estimated total cost is 140 million Jordanian dinars (approximately US $200 million).

In reply to a question asked by SANA's correspondent in Amman, the Jordanian minister described the water given by Syria to Jordan last summer as the best water quality in the world.

The Jordanian minister added, "Our brothers in Syria gave us the choice to take the waters from any water source we want on the al-Yarmouk river and we have chosen the source with the Syrian brothers." Thereby, the Jordanian minister denied a report by one Arab paper on that Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh had said the water given from Syria to Jordan was polluted.

Mahadin refuted what had been fabricated about al-Rawabdeh's statements on this water, which he described as baseless.

Replying to another question on what Syria and the Syrian companies can contribute to building the dam, the Jordanian minister indicated the agreement signed between Jordan and Syria since the 1980s in this regard, adding Syria has helped in contacting, with Jordan, Arab financing funds. He said that the dam will be constructed on joint Jordanian-Syrian lands and by Syrian and Jordanian personnel.

In his press conference, the Jordanian official stressed that the state of water in Jordan during summer 2000 is satisfactory. He explained his ministry's plan to distribute water in the country, especially in Amman, SANA reported.

Previous Stories:
  A stress to build al-Wahda dam   (4/21/2000)
  Arab Fund finances al-Wahda dam   (3/9/2000)
  Jordan and the al-Wahda dam   (2/21/2000)

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