(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency)
Amman, Dec. 7 (Petra) -- The Ministry of Water and Irrigation Tuesday signed an $8 million cooperation and support agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The agreement was signed by the Secretary General of the Jordan Water Authority, Bashar Bataineh, and the Head of USAID Office of Water Resources and Environment, Andrew Lecken.
During the signing ceremony, the Minister of Water and Irrigation, Mohammad Najjar, reviewed projects implemented in the water sector, as well as USAID-funded plans and programs.
The agreement, he stressed, seeks to boost the efficiency of water networks, reduce water loss, upgrade the capacity of water resources, including its management and distribution mechanisms, alleviate operating and maintenance costs and enhance the delivery of water to citizens.
He called for finding solutions and boosting cooperation with the concerned parties to ensure top-notch work flow, expressing the government's appreciation for the United States' support, especially in the water sector to overcome challenges.
In turn, Bataineh noted that the USAID's efforts and long-term investments in the sector aim, in cooperation with the ministry and the Water Authority, to enhance the water supply in the Kingdom by providing technical support, improve local companies' performance, reduce water loss and polishing the networks' infrastructure. This would help address the existing challenges of measuring the quantities of the water the ministry supplies through the national water systems, including managing and regularly distributing water quantities, he added.
The USAID officials, he said, renewed commitment for cooperation with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, pointing out that the Jordan Water Authority contributed $800,000 to the $8-million agreement.
The new resources management and national supply system will provide data and reports that serve decision-making and strategy-building, in addition to enhancing the overall services provided to citizens, he added.
The long-term goal of the project is to identify water quantities supplied to each governorate to enable the ministry to draw up optimal plans for production and distribution management to address the increasing demand on water.
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