Amman – Last week, during president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s trip to the Middle East, businessman Fernando de Arruda Botelho, a shareholder of Camargo Corrêa, one of Brazil’s largest building companies, presented a project for taking water from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea. If implemented, the project should increase the supply of water and electric power to Israel, Palestine and Jordan, the three countries that were visited by Lula.
The idea is to build a tunnel in order to take water from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, which is the lowest point on Earth, located 400 metres below sea level. A desalination plant would be built along the way, with capacity for processing 23 cubic metres per second, as well as a hydroelectric plant with capacity for generating 15,000 megawatts, according to Botelho.
Aside from potable water and energy, the system aims to supply the Dead Sea, which is drying out. Presently, the salt-water lake, located at the border of Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, receives water from the River Jordan, whose flow is much weaker than in the past, as there are several irrigation projects along its course. Water supply for human consumption and for the crops is a serious issue in the region, which has very dry weather.
Botelho claimed that the idea came up after he flew over the Palestine and noticed that the situation was one of "much suffering." "Camargo Corrêa has lots of experience with hydroelectric plants,” he told ANBA. “We devised a project that turned out very good,” he added.
There already is a similar project by the Jordanian government, which intends to transport water from the Red Sea, in the South, to the Dead Sea. Botelho explains that the work involving the Mediterranean Sea is cheaper, because the distances are shorter. He underscored, however, that neither project excludes the other. "Water and electric power are very important commodities to the world and to the countries that have them," he claimed.
In addition to technical know how, the businessman believes that the project may follow a Brazilian model with regard to the type of deal. The proposal is to establish a company based in three countries, comprising Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians, similar to Itaipu Binational, the company that manages the Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant, which belongs to the Brazilian and Paraguayan governments, and has the approval of Argentina to function.
"It is an attempt to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, which is not easy, but president Lula and the Brazilian foreign office (Itamaraty) are looking at the options that Brazil may have in the debate for peace," said the businessman.
In his address at the Brazil-Jordan business seminar, held last Thursday in Amman, Lula stated that he " regards the involvement of Jordan in the projects for building canals linking the Red and Mediterranean seas to the Dead Sea with optimism." "It will be a decisive step for the integration of the Middle East, distributing water, trade and prosperity," said the president, who underscored the existence of opportunities for exchanging knowledge with Brazil.
Despite the government support, the intention, according to Botelho, is to carry out private construction work "with backing from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)" and to obtain funds on the stock market as well.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
