Two loan agreements were signed by the EIB on Saturday. By financing a project in each sector it is hoped the loans will support the country’s sustainable economic and social development.
EIB vice president Dario Scannapecio said: “Reinforcing economic and social infrastructure is the basis for achieving economic development and boosting prosperity. So far, Jordan has achieved impressive results in the quality of infrastructure and these gains need to be sustained.”
The first project, the Wadi Al-Arab Water System II, will receive $54m from the EIB ‒ its lead financer. Other backers include French development agency Agence Française de Développement and the European Union’s neighbourhood investment facility, which mobilises funds for capital-intensive infrastructure projects.
The project will improve drinking water availability for those living the country’s northern districts, where populations are growing especially as significant numbers of refugees from Syria head to the area.
A further €72m will be loaned to Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) to finance a critical part of its renewable energy programme ‒ its Green Corridor project. Agence Française de Développement and the EU neighbourhood investment facility are again also contributors.
The EIB funds will build a new electricity substation and transmission lines and modify existing substations to accommodate them, again to be implemented over the 2015-18 period.
Scannapecio said the electricity project would contribute to economic development, reduce poverty, support Jordan’s renewable energy targets and reduce
