The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the expansion of Jordan’s sanitation infrastructure by extending a financing package worth US$ 30 million (€28.5 million) to the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in West Irbid. The financing package consists of an EBRD sovereign loan of up to US$ 19 million (€18 million), signed earlier this year, along with an investment grant of up to US$ 8 million (€7.2 million) from the government of the United Kingdomunder the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA) and a €2.75 million investment grant from the European Union (EU) under its Neighbourhood Investment Platform.

Jordan is a severely water-scarce country and its municipal infrastructure is being challenged by rapid population growth and a significant number of refugees. The new wastewater facility, located in Jordan’s second-largest city of Irbid, will improve and expand sanitation infrastructure services, benefiting up to 200,000 individuals by 2045. It will connect the inhabitants of surrounding towns with wastewater services for the first time, significantly improving their health and environmental conditions.

The new wastewater treatment plant will complement the ongoing construction of a wastewater network, which the EBRD has been supporting since 2018. Together, these projects will help alleviate the pressure on the country’s infrastructure and promote the use of sustainable water resources. Once completed, the facility will have the capacity to treat 12,000 cubic metres of wastewater a day.