WATER / DESALINATION
Jordan’ s ambitious water lifeline
The Aqaba-Amman
Water Desalination and Conveyance Project isn’ t simply another large desalination plant. It combines one of the world’ s largest SWRO facilities, more than 400 km of water transmission infrastructure, major high-head pumping and almost 300 MW of renewable generation. It will create a new artificial freshwater source for Jordan, delivering around 300 billion litres of drinking water every year.
By Joanne McIntyre, Valve World
The Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project( AAWDCP), also known as Jordan’ s National Water Carrier Project, is one of the largest water infrastructure projects currently under development in the Middle East. It is designed to address Jordan’ s chronic water shortage by desalinating Red Sea water at Aqaba and pumping it north to Amman. While the exact dimensions of the pipeline length, plant capacity and total costs are evolving as the design and financing package
Aqaba-Amman project at a glance Production Daily capacity Water to Amman Water to Aqaba Conveyance Renewable energy Population served Concession Investment
Up to 300 million m 3 / year 851,000 m 3 / day design capacity 250 million m 3 / year 50 million m 3 / year 438 km underground conveyance system Approx. 281 MWp solar PV More than 3 million people 30 years Around ¤ 4bn to US $ 6bn, depending on source / scope
Project company National Carrier Project Company( NCPC)
develop, current multilateral financing documents describe a ~ 440 km conveyance system, 300 million m 3 / year production and 281 MW solar plant. The Aqaba-Amman project concession was awarded to the Meridiam-led consortium, and detailed surveys and engineering began in 2025. EPC contractors have been carrying out detailed surveys and engineering since early 2025, with construction and commissioning expected to take approximately four years according to IFC5.
Ownership Meridiam 90 %, SUEZ International 10 % EPC contractors
Construction
SUEZ, Orascom Construction, VINCI Construction Grands Projets, Arab Contractors, Archirodon
Construction scheduled from 2026; overall construction / commissioning period approximately four years