· web viewjordan's economy is thus expected to witness a slight increase in 2018,...

JORDAN INFO 2018

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Economy

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Cooperation/Investment

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Banking/Finance

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Trade

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Real Estate/Construction

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Telecom

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Health

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Tourism

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Transport

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Energy

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Water

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Environment

1Economic & Commercial SectionEmbassy of Belgium in LebanonNada Abdul RahimEconomic & Commercial Counselor

Tel: +961.1.976008Fax: +961.1.976009Email: beirut@ hub.brussels Website: http://www.brussels-in-lebanon.be/en

mailto:[email protected]

JORDAN INFO 2018

Economy

Economic growth

Jordan’s real growth is expected to reach a maximum of 2.5% in 2018, according to a report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This forecast contradicts the Jordanian government’s prediction of over 3%.

Jordan's economy is thus expected to witness a slight increase in 2018, supported by stronger private consumption driven by a rising population of refugees and the implementation of structural reforms and against the backdrop of an improved outlook for the tourism sector and higher revenues from the sale of phosphates and other mining products.

In 2017, the rate of growth in Jordan remained subdued at 2%, below the average of 2.5% recorded between 2010 and 2016, a period when the instability in Iraq and Syria and the large influx of Syrian refugees restricted growth. This is compared to an average growth of 6.3% between 2001 and 2010.

The EBRD pointed to several future risks, including the potential for decrease of reforms under the International Monetary Fund program, and the possibility of prolonged conflict in Syria and Iraq which are Jordan’s main export markets.

On the positive side, any involvement of Jordanian businesses in the future reconstruction of Syria and Iraq would positively support growth.

WB concessional financing to Jordan

The World Bank (WB) will provide Jordan with $500 million in concessional financing to support the country’s ongoing reforms with a vision to improve the economy and business climate by reducing business costs fostering competition, and increasing exports. The loan would also expand social safety nets to protect the underprivileged against economic shocks, boost job creation and improve access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The WB will also continue to focus on various areas of support development plans, including those designed to improve the education sector.

Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, also recently pledged $2.5 billion in support of the Jordanian Economy. The package will include a deposit at the Central Bank, guarantees to be presented to the World Bank in favor of Jordan, budget support for 5 years and funding of development projects.




JORDAN INFO 2018

Cost of living in Amman

Amman was recently ranked most expensive city in the Arab world and 28th worldwide, according to a report by the Economist. Inflation rates have increased by 50% in the last 10 years but incomes, which are very low, did not rise at a proportionate rate. The big influx of Syrian refugees has furthermore increased the pressure on products and resources and played a major role in lowering the per capita share in GDP.

Over 15% of Jordanians live under the poverty line.

Cooperation / Investment

EBRD-Jordan agreement

Jordan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a 2.8 billion euro memorandum of understanding (MoU) that governs the bank's participation in Jordan’s infrastructure investment projects in several fields. The bank will directly contribute 1 billion euros to finance these projects, while it will help attract investors to cover the remaining funding needs.

The program will cover multiple infrastructure sectors including energy, transport, water and wastewater, solid waste, education and other municipal services.

The Bank also intends to support public-private partnership projects in order to stimulate private sector participation in the infrastructure sector.

The Bank started operating in the country in 2012 and to date has provided approximately €1 billion in a wide range of sectors, including power and energy, municipal infrastructure, manufacturing, financial services and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Infrastructure development is one of the EBRD’s main priorities in Jordan, along with supporting sustainable energy and financing private enterprises.

Indian investments in Jordan




JORDAN INFO 2018

Indian investments in private and public free zones have reached nearly $ 600 million. These investments are in a variety of industrial and chemical enterprises, the largest of which is the Jordan India Fertilizer Company.

India also has investments in diverse industrial and commercial activities in the Zarqa Free Zone.

Jordan-China agreements

Jordan and China signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) this year. They include:

- An air services agreement to regulate air services between the two countries and allow air carriers the rights to operate 21 flights per week for passengers, air freight and mail,- An MoU between the Jordan Chamber of Industry and the Arab Businessmen Forum in China to boost economic ties,- A pledge between Jordan’s foreign minister and his Chinese counterpart to enhance bilateral relations and find new fields of cooperation including investments in the kingdom’s energy and infrastructure sectors.

China is the second largest commercial partner to Jordan. The trade exchange volume between the two countries reached $3 billion in 2017. Chinese investments in the country’s energy and mining sectors have also increased during the past few years.

$ 6.3 billion US pledge to Jordan

The US has pledged to grant Jordan $6.3 billion in assistance over the next 5 years in order to enable Jordan to continue reform and development programs and to alleviate the impact of the refugee burden.

The US is also keen on looking into ways to develop the private sector and help create jobs in the country. Its congress is thus likely to authorize additional financial support for the Kingdom, according to US lawmakers.

Banking / Finance




JORDAN INFO 2018

Overview of the sector

Jordan’s banking sector comprises 25 banks, 15 of which are listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. Arab Bank is by far the largest. Bank density is high with approximately 12,127 people per branch, and 786 branches nationwide. The majority of banks are involved in services generally limited to basic personal, retail and corporate banking (except for Islamic banking services which are limited to Islamic banks).

The Jordanian banking sector is managed and supervised by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), which was established in 1964. The CBJ is supported by the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ), which is the primary trade association for banks in Jordan.

A key goal of the Jordanian government has been to strengthen the investment environment. In order to reach their objective, they have attempted to support the development of a skills-intensive and knowledge-based economy. They have thus introduced a number of key changes in legislation governing the activities of the Amman Financial Market leading towards openness in local and foreign activity. In recent years, banking has undergone a number of regulatory and legal changes to bring operations in line with international standards.

Jordan’s commercial banking sector is well capitalized, and asset growth is expected to expand at a moderate pace, according to BMI. The latter also forecasts the asset growth of Jordan’s banks will pick up to 2.3% in 2018 and 3.0% in 2019 (from 1.5% in 2017) due to improved lending to businesses operating in the trade, industry and tourism segments. They added that tightening monetary and fiscal policies will continue to weigh on credit demand from households and the public sector, preventing a faster pick-up in asset growth.

BMI also expects the Central Bank of Jordan to tighten monetary policy over the coming quarters, which will bode well for the deposits of Jordan banks and encourage increased savings.

They added that the government's ongoing implementation of austerity measures - linked to its IMF Extended Fund Facility, which aims to lower Jordan's debt-to-GDP ratio - will limit public sector demand for credit in Jordan over the coming quarters.

Trade

EU-Jordan rules of origin agreement




JORDAN INFO 2018

Jordan called for the revision of the EU relaxed rules of origin for Jordanian exports to Europe as only three factories exported to Europe under the deal so far, mostly plastic products and garments to Spain, France, Cyprus, Belgium and Hungary.

Jordanian factories are apparently facing difficulties hiring Syrians as stipulated by the EU deal. The EU has responded that Jordan's requests for further relaxation are currently being analyzed in consultation and with the approval of member states. “The EU is open to consider some short-term amendments, before the initiative's mid-term review in 2019. However, all flexibilities should be accompanied by action on behalf of the government of Jordan and the Jordanian private sector. Those flexibilities, should they be granted, would bring about good results only in a context of improved business and investment climate, labor market and human capital management. Those reforms are high on the government's agenda and need to be swiftly implemented."

For Jordanian industries to be able to benefit from the simplified rules of origin by the EU, each factory needs to have Syrian employees constituting no less than 15% of its manpower. The rate will be increased to 25% in the third year of the agreement. The agreement is valid for 10 years.

Under the deal with the EU, parties designated a total of 18 industrial and developmental zones as beneficiaries, while the relaxed rules will also be applied to other industries across the Kingdom as soon as 200,000 jobs are created for Syrian refugees following the issuing of work permits.

Real Estate / Construction

Performance of the real estate sector in 2017 and 2018

Trade volume in the Kingdom’s real estate market in 2017 decreased by 14% per cent when compared to 2016.

According to the Department of Land and Survey (DLS), the real estate market in Jordan has dropped again by 11% in the first 7 months of 2018 when compared with the same period last year. And despite high demand for new housing due to a growing population, incomes and public spending capacity remain restricted in light of ongoing fiscal consolidation.

The slowing down in this important sector is regarded as serious by local economists. They add that real estate activity in Jordan is the backbone of the national economy and when it goes up or down, it sends a signal as to where the economy is heading. They are therefore urging the government to offer stimulus packages and lower taxes as real estate taxes in particular are prohibitive for most of the people.




JORDAN INFO 2018

According to President of the Jordan Housing Developers Association (JHDA), this crisis is getting bigger, unless some drastic actions are undertaken. The problem is of various dimensions. The JHDA is reporting that, while there are plenty of houses that are expensive and luxurious available on the market, affordable housing for the middle and lower classes is rarely found. It seems apartments less than 110 m² in size are very much in demand, but zoning regulations and municipal by-laws prohibit the construction of the smaller size apartments and force upon developers the construction of bigger size housing units that are beyond the reach of most people.

On the other hand, BMI believes that the future of Jordan's construction industry is bright, despite ongoing structural challenges and market risks. They are forecasting a robust growth in terms of construction industry value in 2018 with Jordan's construction market set to expand by 7.4%.

Telecom

Market overview

The ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector is the third largest contributor to the national gross domestic product (approximately 12% of GDP) with over 540 companies across the Kingdom with around $199 million investments and $324 million exports in 2017.

Responsibility for the Jordanian telecom market is divided between two bodies: the Ministry of Information & Communications Technology (MICT) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The market is mature and thus the regulatory regime is, by regional standards, open and free from government interference, according to BMI Research.

While the kingdom’s ICT sector remains a success story, there are calls from sector leaders to allow for legislation changes in order to maintain high growth rates as several new taxes were imposed or increased since 2013.

Mobile

The total number of mobile connections was estimated by BMI Research at around 9.97 million at end of 2017 for a total population of around 9.5 million, with almost 2.6 million 4G subscribers, or about 26% of the market. This number represents a loss of 885,000 subscribers in 2017; a significant number of inactive accounts are being held on operator sheets. By 2027,




JORDAN INFO 2018

they expect a total of about 11.45 million subscribers with 8.57 million 4G connections, making up 79.45% of the mobile market.

Continued volatility in market growth is apparent from operator figures. Efforts to eliminate inactive accounts result in periodic falls in subscriber numbers. Jordan has become a transit point for refugees, as some have been equipped with Jordanian SIM cards. Efforts to disconnect illegally sourced or registered SIMs will be ongoing, adding further volatility to an already saturated market.

The Jordanian telecommunications market is primarily driven by three large carriers competing aggressively with each other. Zain Jordan, Orange Jordan and Umniah are all subsidiaries of large international telecoms companies.

Faced with saturation, BMI anticipates operators will focus on increasing the usage, rather than expanding their respective subscriber bases. Nevertheless, all three carriers have aggressively introduced 4G services throughout the country. Carriers are also working with a variety of other service providers in healthcare and financial services to diversify their revenue flows and to develop a multitude of mobile services.

Wireline Voice & Broadband

According to BMI Research, latest figures show that the broadband market served 8.68 million broadband subscribers, including non-dedicated mobile broadband (smartphone-based voice-and-data connections included in the total). If this type of connection is omitted, BMI estimates that the market totals 2.7 million accesses. The increase in mobile broadband subscriptions is due to the rapid expansion of 4G networks and operators' efforts to upgrade subscribers to new higher-value data-centric plans. Zain became the first operator to launch 4G services in Jordan in 2015, followed by Orange and then Umniah. Orange also launched advanced LTE-A services in early 2018.

The ADSL market, though outperformed by mobile broadband, reported robust growth in 2014 and 2015. It is the most used wireline service. However, BMI believes that the wireline market will continue to contract, although slowly, due to residual demand for copper access in the broadband arena. The latter continues to be driven by mobile connections, which are often cheaper and more reliable than fixed accesses.

Health




JORDAN INFO 2018

Pharmaceutical market forecasts

Prescription medicines will continue to dominate Jordan's pharmaceutical market at the expense of over-the-counter medicines over the long term. The prescription market will be supported by factors such as the emergence of lifestyle-related diseases, including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disorders, as well as by healthcare modernization and the government's push for wider healthcare coverage. The Jordanian prescription drug market was valued at $ 925 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $1 billion in 2018, according to a report by BMI Research.

Patented drug use will continue to increase over the long term supported by the rise in medical tourist numbers as well as ageing demographics. However, the encouragement of generic substitution by the government as a means to control cost will slow the growth of the patented drug market. This, in turn, will see generic drugs gradually taking up a higher portion of the market share, always according to BMI Research. In 2016, generics drug sales in Jordan represented 48% of overall pharmaceutical expenditure compared to 34% for patented medicine sales. Forecasts on generic drugs expect them to increase from $499 million in 2016 to $1.15 billion by 2026 at a 10-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.7% compared to an increase of 8.1% on patented drug in 2026. The share of generic drug on pharmaceutical market will grow then from 48% in 2016 to 54% in 2026.

Medical tourism

Relying on the relatively advanced nature of its healthcare system and its affordable services, Jordan has established itself as a leading medical tourism hub in the Middle East and is trying to attract new patients from a range of international markets, particularly Nigeria, Chad, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

While total spending on healthcare in Jordan stood at $3.26 billion in 2017, accounting for 8.6% of GDP, the Government is working towards national scale improvements, including new public hospitals, the expansion of insurance coverage as well as foreign direct investment into supporting health infrastructure improvements, according to BMI Research. They forecast Jordan’s healthcare market to reach a value of $8.3 billion by 2027. However, regional turmoil will continue to negatively impact medical tourism.

Pharmaceutical trade

BMI Research recently reported that Jordan is the only market in the Middle East to boast a positive pharmaceutical trade balance. Pharmaceutical exports reached $722 million in 2017




JORDAN INFO 2018

and are forecast to reach $893 million by 2022. The majority of local production is exported to foreign markets within the Middle East. Some products are also exported to the United States and Europe. There are 16 pharmaceutical industries based in the Kingdom and five of them are publically listed on the Amman Stock Exchange, with Hikma Pharmaceuticals – the largest pharma manufacturer in Jordan – also quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

Jordan’s large generic drugs industry focuses mainly on a small number of therapeutic areas. The domestic industry is strong in small molecule manufacturing in areas such as antibiotics, antiulcerants and antiretrovirals. Subsequently, the local market is still reliant on imported products of hi-tech treatments for chronic illnesses; 70% of which are imported from Europe.

Imports are also expected to rise from $571 million in 2017 to $711 million by 2022.

Medical Devices

The overall Jordanian market size and per capita sending will remain comparatively small in global terms, according to BMI Research. Although increased VAT on medical devices will hinder sales, market growth is expected to remain positive supported by health infrastructure developments and moderate acceleration in economic growth. The continued modernization of the healthcare system as well as new healthcare standards will increase healthcare access and reinforce the demand for medical devices.

The organization expects that the medical device market will expand by a 2017-2022 CAGR 7.9% which will see it rise to $ 401.8 million by 2022.

Tourism

Opening of W Hotel in Amman

W Amman Hotel recently opened in Amman. Developed by Eagle Hills Jordan, the 280 room project will be followed by 3 more hotel openings across Jordan: the St Regis in Amman, the Westin Saraya in Aqaba and the Al Manara, a luxury Collection Hotel in Aqaba.

The Ritz-Carlton hotel

Marriot International and Al Eqbal Real Estate Development signed an agreement to open the Ritz-Carlton in Amman. The planned 233 room hotel is under construction and is expected to be inaugurated in 2020.




JORDAN INFO 2018

Progress in tourism figures

The tourism sector, which contributes 11% to the country’s economy annually, is expected to continue recovering during 2018, according to stakeholders. 2017 witnessed an increase of 10% in the number of tourists, according to the Central Bank of Jordan's figures. During the first half of 2018, there was an 8-10% increase in the number of visitors. The second half of the year is expected to be much stronger.

As for tourism receipts, they could double by 2022 if the sector manages to continue to grow by 10 to 15%, according to the new Minister of Tourism. Several projects are in the pipeline as well as developments related to increasing accessibility to the country and enhancing touristic sites. In 2017, tourism receipts increased by 15%, followed by a 13% increase in the first half of 2018.

Transport

Car Manufacturing facility

Aqaba Special Economic zone has signed an agreement with the SIAG Arabian Auto Manufacturing Co. for the construction of a car manufacturing industry to be located in the Southern economic zone of Aqaba. The facility, estimated to cost $477 million in the initial phase, will manufacture around 50,000 cars annually. Work on the first phase of the project will begin early 2019 with estimated actual production in 2021. The plant will initially produce SUVs and light-duty pickups but could expand later to manufacture larger vehicles including mini-buses and 50-seater buses using Toyota engines. Total investments in the project could reach $6 billion post first six years of operation.

Hybrid cars

The number of imported hybrid vehicles in Jordan increased by 19.3% in 2017 compared to 2016. According to official statistics, the number of hybrid cars in 2017 reached 31,500 compared to 26,400 in the previous year. This hike is attributed to the approaching deadline of the government’s decision to cancel the exemption of customs fees granted to this type of vehicle. Hybrid cars pay a reduced special tax of 25% of its price, instead of 55% for regular fuel cars. The decision came into effect in 2012 and has been renewed every year henceforth.




JORDAN INFO 2018

The statistics also showed that the customs clearance of regular fuel cars increased by 23.4% to reach 44,000 vehicles in 2017 compared 33,700 in 2016.

People are also given the choice to de-registrate old fully gasoline-operated cars (10 years or older), hand them to authorities and receive a partial exemption from the special tax to register a new hybrid car.

Royal Jordanian update

Royal Jordanian (RJ) is negotiating with plane manufacturers to add up to 23 narrow-body aircraft to its fleet. Talks are underway with Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier.

RJ plans to purchase 4 aircraft and lease the remaining, which will be the replacements for the airline’s current fleet of 19 short-haul planes and 7 long-haul craft.

The company returned to profit in 2017 for the first time in more than a decade.

Ryanair flights

Ryanair has recently launched its first flight to Amman and Aqaba. The first route will take off from Paphos, Cyprus to Amman, followed by nine other routes to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman and 4 other routes to King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba.

Potential Metro Project

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) commissioned, at the end of 2016, the Chinese Railway Engineering Corporation (CREM) to undertake a field study with the aim of analyzing the potential path a metro would take if established in Amman. In September 2017, CREM confirmed that the topography of the Amman allows the implementation of the Amman Metro. The Chinese company is currently preparing a more detailed study with plans and an estimated cost on the implementation which is expected to connect the north and south of the city through a single line. The construction and the operation of the Amman Metro will probably be conducted under a DBOT (design, construction, operation, transfer) model.

If the project was found feasible, it would be implemented in parallel with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) which will be completed by 2020. Both mode of transports will have a common connection station.




JORDAN INFO 2018

Energy

EBRD loan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a $22 million loan for the construction and operation of a 50 MW solar plant in the Risha region, 300 kilometers north-east of Amman. The loan will be extended to Solar Power Projects PSC, a Jordanian company owned by Saudi Arabia’s International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA Power). The EBRD loan is provided alongside parallel loans from the German Investment Corporation DEG and the Arab Bank, of $16 million each.

The new plant will be located next to an existing 150 MW gas-fired power plant, owned and operated by CEGCO, the largest generator of electricity in Jordan and a subsidiary of ACWA Power.

The solar project will be the eighth financed by the EBRD in Jordan over the past four years, bringing the total installed capacity of power projects supported by the bank in the Kingdom to more than 1,100 MW.

Solar plants

Jordan received in April technical and financial offers from regional and international companies and consortia under the third direct proposals stage to implement four solar 50MW energy power plants in Maan Development Zone with a total capacity of 200 megawatts (MW). Four companies will be selected to build the plants which are part of the government's plan to diversify energy resources and increase the contribution of renewable energy to the overall energy mix in Jordan and reduce the energy bill.

The Ministry also recently announced that it is opening the door for small and medium industries to benefit from 100MW generated through solar complexes in the south of the Kingdom to cover their consumption of electric power at a minimum capacity of 25MW for each assembly; aiming to serve industries, increase the competitiveness of Jordanian goods and reduce operating expenses.

This announcement is a part of 300MW allocated for the third round of direct offers for renewable energy projects announced by the government in December 2016, according to Jordan Times. The decision comes after the reduction of the number of third phase projects to four, including three solar cell projects and one wind power project.




JORDAN INFO 2018

The third phase renewable energy as well as the solar complexes of industries will be linked to the ministry's Green Corridor project, which is being implemented by the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

According to figures by the ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 732MW were operational by the end of 2017, contributing around 7% to the overall energy consumed in the country. The total capacity of electricity generated by renewable energy projects is expected to reach 2,400MW by 2021.

Nuclear plant update

The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) has revoked, in June of this year, a $10 billion plan with ROSATOM to build the country’s first nuclear plants using Russian reactors. The reason given for this annulment is that the Russian sided wanted to secure project funding through commercial loans which was deemed too costly by the Commission.

In parallel, JAEC is in serious and advanced talks with China Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) to build a 220MW High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTR). An agreement for building the almost $1 billion worth helium gas-cooled reactor is expected to be signed in 2019 between the two sides.

The JAEC is currently studying two locations for the reactor including one in the Aqaba Governorate.

Asides this megaproject with CNNC, the JAEC is also looking at several other, smaller nuclear power plant proposals and is discussing with several Small Modular Reactor [SMR] vendors in the UK, US, Russia and South Korea.

Water

Projects in the water sector in 2017

In 2017, over $ 1 billion was invested in the water sector intended to improve and increase water supply, expand the sector’s reliance on renewable energy and link more households to the sewage network, according to government officials.




JORDAN INFO 2018

Completed projects include the mega National Water Carrier project which interlinks water projects across the Kingdom providing the northern governorates with 300-500 m³ of water per hour. The project also seeks to connect water projects in the south of the Kingdom to projects in the central and northern regions, in order to better supply water-distressed areas, especially in the north, via an expansive network of 600 kilometers of pipelines.

The national carrier is one of the 10 projects listed under the ministry’s water supply strategy for the northern governorates, launched in December 2015, according to the ministry, whose strategy entails implementing projects worth $308 million to provide Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Mafraq governorates with freshwater, in addition to renovating water networks in Irbid, Jerash and Ajloun.

Meanwhile, the ministry has completed some 80% of a project to improve water supply in the Northern Badia by improving the supply systems of Al Akeb wells.

Other projects are ongoing including the strategic project of the Amman-Shidiyeh-Hassa Water Conveyance Project which aims at extracting water from deep wells located in the south, between the Shidiyeh, Hassa and Qatraneh areas.

Implementation of 8 new major dams and 26 ponds has also commenced.

Jordan has spent more than USD 4 billion on its water infrastructure over the past five years to cater for an increasing water demand. However, despite all efforts to explore new water resources – mainly the 2017-2019 plan, worth $658 million- the gap between available water amounts and demand is still expanding due to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. Jordan has appealed to the international community for help in the matter but so far, has only received $52 million or 30% of the needed amount.

Meanwhile, the ministry is embarking on a set of strategic mega projects to be implemented between 2018 and 2025 to address water scarcity by generating an additional amount of 362 million m³ of water, at a cost of nearly $ 5 billion.

Wastewater network project in Irbid

The EU has recently agreed to co-finance a project to construct a new wastewater network in Irbid. It will provide €20 million in grants to co-finance an EBRD investment of €25 million. The project will also receive €2.1 financing from the World Bank and €5.9 million from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.




JORDAN INFO 2018

The project entails connecting households in 15 towns or around 105,000 residents of western Irbid to sewage networks leading to Wadi Al Arab wastewater treatment plant. The package will also finance the installation of pumping stations.

Irbid has absorbed a large number of Syrian refugees over recent years putting a major strain on the local wastewater network and adding pressure in the outdated infrastructure for wastewater collection.

Water desalination project in Wadi Husban

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation will carry out a project to desalinate water in Wadi Husban, with an annual capacity of 20 million cubic meters in order to serve the capital Amman and the Dead Sea tourist areas.

The government is planning to implement several water desalination projects so as to provide new and sustainable water resources.

Aqaba desalination project

Jordan’s first water desalination plant opened in Aqaba recently. The plant, set to work at a capacity of 500 m³ per hour, will be running in affiliation with the KEMAPCO Arab Fertilizers and Chemicals Industries, one of the companies under the Arab Potash Company's (APC) umbrella.

The desalination project was implemented by KEMAPCO on the principle of build-operate-transfer (BOT). The project aims at desalinating Red Sea water with the support of the Water Ministry and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. The clean water it will generate, estimated at around 5 million m³ annually, will be used for drinking purposes, agricultural and industrial needs and will meet Aqaba’s water needs until the year 2035.

Expansion of As Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is planning to expand the As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, Jordan's largest sewage treatment facility located in Zarqa Governorate. The government is presently actively searching for donor agencies to fund a 200-million-dollar extension which seeks to meet the demands of the ever-increasing discharge of wastewater in the central region.




JORDAN INFO 2018

This expansion is imperative in the midst of the country's growing population and the Syrian refugee crisis. Jordan has received some 1.4 million Syrian refugees, which not only exacerbated Jordan's water shortage, but also placed huge pressure on the sewage network and infrastructure.

Expansion of Balqa Wastewater plant

Jordan is expected to commence works on the main wastewater treatment plant that serves Balqa Governorate's half-a-million residents. The German Development Bank is funding the expansion of the plant through a 25-million-euro grant. The scheme will increase the capacity of 3000 m³ to 25000 m³ per day and is scheduled to end within 2 years.

The expansion of the plant is one of the 21 projects listed under the ministry's wastewater strategy, which seeks to raise households’ connectivity to the wastewater network from a current 80% to 90%, by the year 2025. It entails the construction of new wastewater treatment plants, the expansion and refurbishment of existing plants and the installation of new sewage networks. With the implementation of the projects, the Kingdom will increase the amount of treated wastewater from the current 115 million m³ per year, to 250 million m³, by the year 2025, according to the ministry.

US grant for the water sector

Jordan and the USAID signed two grant agreements worth $166 million aimed at implementing the goals of Jordan’s 2016-2025 national water strategy that seeks to generate additional water amounts and reduce Jordan’s water loss from the current 43% to 25% by the year 2025.

The first agreement will be dedicated to improving Zara-Maeen Water Treatment Plant’s supply system and reduce operational and maintenance costs. The second agreement concerns the replacement of main and tertiary pipelines, while traditional water meters will be replaced with smart ones that provide more accurate readings

Environment

Green Amman “Forestation of Desert Highway”

A five-month project for the forestation of the desert highway has been launched. Funded by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the project will include preparing the infrastructure,




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providing water sources, establishing five international-quality nurseries in five governorates, building 15km of roadside berms and installing 150 water tanks as well as an irrigation system.

Regional marine preservation project

Jordan will benefit from a 5-million-euro regional project launched by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) to combat marine litter and create a management cycle for marine waste, particularly for plastic. Entitled “Plastic Busters”, UfM seeks to maintain biodiversity and preserve natural ecosystems by implementing a harmonized approach against marine litter.

Waste-sorting project

The Greater Irbid Municipality has recently implemented a trail for a waste-sorting project funded by the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ). The project is expected to reduce the amount of waste sent to the Alkeider landfill.

With over 1.4 million Syrian refugees, the amounts of waste have drastically increased in Jordan in the past few years, especially in the north of the country.

National solid waste strategy

The EU Support to the implementation of the National Solid Waste Management Strategy tender has recently been launched in Jordan financed under the European Neighborhoods Instrument (ENI). The proposed action aims at supporting policy reform programs undertaken by the government of Jordan in the area of solid waste management. Its purpose is to ensure the safe and sanitary disposal of municipal solid waste.

Jordan currently generates an estimated 2.7 million tons of municipal waste per year, of which 5% are generated by Syrian refugees. In 2034, it is estimated to reach 5.2 million tons.




JORDAN INFO 2018

Have a good read

Brussels Invest & Export (hub.brussels)Embassy of Belgium – Beirut - Lebanon

Nada Abdul Rahim, Economic and Commercial CounselorChristine Godart, Commercial Assistant

Najwa Eid, Commercial Assistant

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