Gov't to name winning Disi project bidder
Jordan Times
Jul. 19, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The winning bidder of the $600 million Disi Water Conveyance Project will be announced in two weeks, Ministry of Water and Irrigation sources said on Wednesday.
Three companies, including a Kuwaiti company, a Turkish company and an alliance of a Spanish-Italian company in February qualified to bid for the the project, which will supply Amman and the southern governorates with around 100 million cubic metres of water per year from the southern Disi aquifer for the next 100 years.
The ministry's spokesperson, Assistant Secretary General Adnan Zu'bi, said so far the Turkish company has tendered the lowest price per cubic metre of water, ranging between 75-80 fils.
"We will negotiate with the winning company to reach the lowest price to ensure citizens pay minimum prices," Zu'bi said.
"Each fils we manage to slash of the price will save the ministry JD1 million annually," he added.
The project, which will be completed four years after construction work begins, will include establishing a main pumping station, three storage wells and a 320-kilometre conveyance line.
The Disi project is one of six strategic plans initiated by the ministry to address the country's water deficit, which currently stands at 500 million cubic metres annually.
The consortium will run the Disi project for a period of 40 years after which the government, which will invest $200 million, will regain ownership.