New project to connect 30,000 Mafraq residents to sewage network — official

AMMAN — Work will begin in October on a project to connect 30,000 residents of Mafraq to a sewage network, an official at the Ministry of Water said on Sunday.

The ministry has floated the project’s tender, the official said, adding that the main and tertiary sewage networks would be extended to serve 4,000 households in Mafraq.

“Under the project, 65-kilometre-long pipes will be installed to improve the health and environmental conditions in Mafraq,” the official told The Jordan Times.

Pressure on the sewage services is mounting in Mafraq, 80km northeast of the capital, as it hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, the official said, highlighting that the project is scheduled to be completed in two years.

Mafraq has a population of 549,948, according to the 2015 national census.

In addition to installing new sewage networks, the project also entails the replacement of 11km of deteriorated sewage pipes, according to the official.

“The project will cost 15 million euros [around JD11.65 million]. It is funded by a grant from the German Development Bank [KfW],” the official added.

The project follows the recent renovation and expansion of the Mafraq Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The $34 million renovation and expansion project was co-financed by USAID, which contributed JD18.6 million and the government, which paid $7.7 million (JD5.45 million), a USAID statement said in April, when the plant was inaugurated.

The wastewater flow from the plant was increased from 1,500 cubic metres a day to 6,550 cubic metres per day to serve the city of Mafraq, USAID said. 

As the conflict in Syria enters its fifth year, Jordan is hosting around 1.3 million Syrians, of whom some 650,000 are registered refugees, according to government figures. 

Around 15 per cent live in refugee camps, while the rest have settled among host communities. 

Since the Syrian crisis began, demand for water has increased by 40 per cent in the northern region, while supply remains scarce, the Water Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.