Syria, Jordan to start construction of al-Wahda dam
Syria-Jordan, Economics, 5/4/1999

A round of final talks were held on Monday in Damascus between the Syrian delegation led by Irrigation Minister Abdul Rahman Madani and the Jordanian side led by Minister of Water and Irrigation Kamel Hadadin.

The two sides discussed means of implementing President al-Assad's directives in providing about 8 million cubic meters of waters during the coming summer. The provision of Syrian water is aimed at meeting part of Jordan's future needs for water.

The two delegations asserted the need to ensure the safety and purity of the water in coordination with the two chairpersons of the Syrian and Jordanian joint committee.

Prompted by the directive of the two states' leadership, it was agreed to start the implementation of al-Wahda dam according to the agreement signed between Syria and Jordan since 1987. The study on this project will be updated.

The two ministers ratified the minutes of meetings of the joint Jordanian - Syrian committee in the presence of members of the two delegations and the Jordanian ambassadors in Damascus.

The minutes of meeting state that a start to the al-Wahda dam projects is in line with agreements signed between Syria and Jordan and is under the condition that Jordan will provide financing in hard currency for the project and that priority must be given to borrowing from Arab funds.

At the conclusion of the session the Jordanian minister and his Syrian counterpart gave statements to reporters in which the Jordanian minister stressed that his visit to Syria was successful, fruitful and constructive. The Jordanian minister added the construction of the dam is a Syrian-Jordanian matter "because the dam falls within the Syrian-Jordanian territorial borders and will be carried out by Syria-Jordanian expertise."

He added the dam's total cost is estimated at US 300 million.

Previous Stories:
  Syrian waters for Jordan   (5/3/1999)
  President Al-Assad, King Abdallah discuss water, security issues   (4/22/1999)
  Jordan stresses cooperation with Syria to build al-Wahda dam, finance a problem   (4/9/1999)

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