AMMAN, DEC 28, 2018 -- The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is searching for donor agencies to fund a 200-million-dollar expansion for As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, Jordan's largest sewage treatment facility, according to government officials.
Government officials say it is imperative to raise the capacity of the state-of-the-art treatment plant dur to rising population numbers.
Located in Zarqa Governorate, As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant was built to replace the old, overburdened As-Samra wastewater stabilization ponds. Construction on the plant commenced in 2003 and ended in 2008, at a cost of $169 million.
The facility underwent an expansion phase that started in 2012 and ended in 2015 to increase the plant's average treatment capacity from 267,000 cubic meters of wastewater to 346,000 cubic meters, according to the ministry.
Now, the ministry is looking into further expanding the facility, at an estimated cost of $200 million.
According to The Jordan Times, the facility is among Jordan's main strategic projects that the ministry implemented to safeguard the environment and improve health as well as socio-economic conditions of local communities.
The plant already treats 70 percent of wastewater from Amman and Zarqa, and generates 10 percent of the country's treated wastewater. A combination of hydraulic turbines and gas turbines powered by digestion biogas generate 80 per cent of the plant's power needs, according to web sources.
