São Paulo – The governments of Jordan and Israel will sign an agreement for the execution of a project to link the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, which will be funded by the World Bank, according to information released this Thursday (26th) by news agency Reuters. The enterprise, which has been in discussion for years, includes the construction of a desalination plant at the Aqaba Gulf, in the Jordanian coastline, and of a pipe system to take water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.
According to Reuters, the desalinated water will be divided between Jordanians, Israelis and Palestinians and the remaining salt water, a byproduct of the process, will be sent to the Dead Sea through a 180-kilometers-system of pipes. The cost of the project is estimated at US$ 900 million and with a timeframe estimated in three years.
Besides supplying water for human consumption, the project plans to avoid the Dead Sea of drying out. The Dead Sea actually is a salt lake that is supplied with water by the Jordan River.
Jordan has a severe deficit in fresh water, according to Reuters, and the desalination plant will produce at least 80 million cubic meters per year, with half of the production being sold to Israel.
According to Petra, the news agency from the Jordanian government, the country will start to prepare, in the following weeks, studies and documents to hold the bidding process for the first stage of the project. The minister of Waters and Irrigation, Hazem Al Nasser, said that the bidding will scheduled for this year.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
