Ambassador Jones Inaugurates Zarqa Wastewater Network Project

November 29, 2012

Zarqa- U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Stuart Jones and the Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation H.E. Eng. Maher Abu Al-Samen attended a ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of the Wastewater Network Project in Zarqa.  The U.S.-based Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is funding the $55 million project with supporting grants from the U.S. Government.

Once completed, the Wastewater Network Project will upgrade and expand the wastewater network in Zarqa Governorate through the construction of 170 km of sanitation lines that will serve 4200 households.  This in turn will increase the amount of treated water available for agriculture in the Jordan Valley; lead to a healthier population by fixing and replacing sewage pipes and connecting more citizens to a wastewater network; and offer over 500 employment opportunities for the Zarqa Governorate citizens.

In his remarks, Ambassador Jones noted that in the last 10 years, the U.S. has invested approximately $537 million in Jordan’s water sector and that the United States, through the MCC, is proud to partner with Jordan to achieve greater water security, a healthier environment, and more sustainable economic growth.

This project is one of three critical water and wastewater projects funded by the United States Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) through the $275 million dollar Compact with Jordan.  In 2010, the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed a Compact with the goal to reduce poverty through economic growth in Jordan.  MCC is an innovative U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.