Jordan Red Sea Development Project plans dropped

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation said on Wednesday that it has dropped its plan to implement the Jordan Red Sea Development Project (JRSP) and adopted a new scheme to desalinate Red Sea water.

The JRSP is a costly and time-consuming venture that requires billions of dollars to be implemented; therefore, the ministry will carry out smaller projects instead to secure much-needed water, Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem Nasser said on Wednesday.

“The ministry will float a tender before the end of this year to establish the project, which entails a conveyor to transfer seawater from the Red Sea, a desalination plant to be established in Wadi Araba and another pipeline from the plant to the Dead Sea to discharge the brine,” Nasser told reporters at a press conference.

The new project will achieve Jordan’s two main goals: revive the shrinking Dead Sea and provide water to an ever-growing population, Nasser said.