Improved prosperity, accountability, and equality for a stable, democratic Jordan

Development Challenge

Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Approximately 50 percent of Jordan’s extracted water is lost to NRW—water lost through leaks, theft, or inaccurate metering. The accompanying financial loss for the Government is approximately $500 million per year.

Implementing Partners: Through a Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement (FARA) model, Water Authority of Jordan, Jordan Valley Authority, Jordan Water Company-Miyahuna, Yarmouk Water Company, and Aqaba Water Company. In parallel, USAID has a Management Engineering Services Contractor to provide support and capacity building to water utilities during implementation and to verify progress towards FARA completion.

USAID Investment: $230 million

Contact: Louis Qaqish

Program Achievements

  • In FY 2019, USAID saved 3.2 million cubic meters of water through water network construction, pressure management, leak detection, repair work, and improved meter accuracy
  • After completing construction work and smart meter installations in seven distribution zones in the cities of Amman and Aqaba, the program reduced NRW rates from 42 percent to 24 percent
  • The Miyahuna water utility in Amman now has dedicated vehicles for leak detection and repair, which dramatically decreases the response time for maintenance requests
  • Water utilities have improved capacity to reduce and manage NRW based on experience implementing the FARA, which also enhances the sustainability of USAID’s investment

Lessons Learned

  • FARAs can provide a successful model for both implementation and capacity building in parallel
  • NRW reduction is critical to helping meet demand in a country with extreme water scarcity and high capital investment costs for new water supply projects
  • Understanding the capacities, needs, and requirements of the partner is essential in identifying practical and clear objectives, targets, milestones, time frame, and indicators for proper execution of FARAs