As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant Project in Jordan
![Wastewater treatment plant infrastructure consisting of large, round tanks in the foreground; low hills in the background. Photo Source: Eman Tell/USAID](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081108213829im_/http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/environment/water/images/as_samra_water_treatment.jpg) |
The As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant will process the wastewater of two million Jordanians, help improve the health of the local population, increase water availability for use in agriculture in the Amman and Zarqa regions. |
This USAID activity is focused on replacing the existing As-Samra wastewater treatment plant. The new plant will be operated and maintained according to a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement implemented through a public-private partnership. When complete, this plant will significantly improve the watershed by meeting Jordanian standards for effluent discharge. The plant will serve two million Jordanians, help improve the health of the local population, and substantially increase water availability for use in agriculture in the Amman and Zarqa regions.
The Samra Plant Consortium was formed to construct, operate, and maintain the plant for the next 25 years. The consortium will construct the new wastewater treatment facilities, and will modify and expand the Ain Ghazal pre-treatment facility. Together, these improvements will replace the overloaded and inadequate existing waste stabilization pond treatment system. When complete, the facility will treat 267,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day. Ownership of the plant will transfer to the Government of Jordan after 25 years. The total budget for the project is $169 million, almost half of which has come from USAID ($78.1 million).
The remainder of the projects funding comes from the Government of Jordan ($13.9 million), the Samra Plant Consortium ($17 million), and a bank consortium ($60 million). The As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant Project is innovative in a number of different ways. The project is the first public-private partnership in financing and management of a public infrastructure and the first public-private partnership for a wastewater treatment facility in the Middle East. This is also the first USAID-financed public-private infrastructure project worldwide. Based on the projects design and implementation to date, USAID anticipates that this activity will serve as a model for future investments.
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