Minister of Water and Irrigation, Hazem Nasser, said on Saturday that a host of Jordan Valley water projects are currently underway, pledging that more facilities to farmers will be in place to maximize the farming sector's contributions towards national development.
Nasser said in a statement that his ministry is working on plans to carry out projects in the Southern and Central Jordan Valley, the mainstay of the Kingdom's agriculture and the country's food basket.
During an inspection tour of the region, the minister took a first-hand look at the storage capacity of the Wadi Shueib Dam and also checked on the progress of work on the first phase of the Southern Jordan Valley irrigation rehabilitation project, a JD7 million venture financed by the United Arab Emirates.
The key irrigation project, which is bankrolled by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund as part of a major grant to Jordan by the Gulf Arab countries, involves the construction of an 83-KM network to raise the water supply efficiency for farmers, the statement added.
Nasser said the government would "responsibly" addresses farmers' demands, particularly once they have supplemented the Jordan Valley Authority's staff and management.
Nasser was briefed about the key achievements such as the installment of electric automatic gates at water canals, diversion dams and modern pumps as well as the rehabilitation of aqueducts and building of cement drains which will be in place by September, 2015.
Source: Petra