Greece to co-finance feasibility study for Dead-Red project
Jordan Times
Feb. 28, 2007
AMMAN -- The Greek government is to contribute $1 million for the feasibility study of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project.
Ambassador of Greece to Jordan Troyphon Parakevopolos on Tuesday submitted a letter from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Evripidis Stylianidis to Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali, affirming his government's commitment in this regard.
The letter also indicated the Greek government's intention to continue supporting Jordan in light of its role in the Middle East region, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
The letter comes as a follow-up to Al-Ali's meeting with Stylianidis in Amman last December, where she highlighted the importance of this study and stressed the significance of obtaining approval from the concerned Greek authorities.
The total cost of the study is estimated at $15 million, and with the Greek government's contribution, $10 million has been already secured, the statement said.
Al-Ali expressed her appreciation for Greece's initiative and her gratitude to the other donor countries that participated in funding this study, which include France, the Netherlands, Japan and the United States.
The projected Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance canal would provide the Kingdom with badly needed drinking water and give the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, a new lease on life.
Officials have been warning that the Dead Sea is dying, and needs drastic measures to bring it back into life.
Considered the first step to save the Dead Sea from drying up in less than 50 years, the plan received world support when it was discussed during meetings of the World Economic Forum in 2003.
In 2005, the World Bank launched a process of resource mobilisation for a feasibility study, which will examine the economic and environmental effects of establishing a 200-kilometre pipeline to transfer Red Sea water into the Dead Sea. The level of the sea has been dropping at the rate of one metre per year, largely due to diversion of water from the Jordan River for agricultural and industrial use. During the past 20 years alone, it has plunged more than 30 metres.
The canal will be built along the border with Israel in Wadi Araba and generate 550 megawatts of electricity as the water will rise to 170 metres above sea level, then drop to 400 metres below sea level.
The project also entails the creation of a desalination plant, which will provide 850 million cubic metres of potable water a year.
But a two-year feasibility study must be conducted before the project, estimated to cost $5 billion, is launched.
The study would examine the effects of the project on the ecological balance in the area and the canal's impact on the quality of the water.
Jordan and the Palestinian areas are among the 10 most water-deprived areas in the world.