(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Jordanian government and the European Union on Sunday hammered out five loan and grant agreements to finance several development projects in the Hashemite Kingdom at a total cost of USD 195.5 million.
These included two loan agreements totaling USD 126 million for financing the country's energy and water sectors and three grants totaling USD 69.5 million to support occupational education, communities hosting Syrian refugees and integrate 140,000 Syrian students in the educational system.
The agreements were signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Najib Fakhoury and Vice-President of the EIB Dario Scannapieco.
"Reinforcing economic and social infrastructure is the basis for achieving economic development and boosting prosperity, and I am very pleased that the EIB can support Jordan's efforts to achieve this goal," said Scannapieco.
"So far, Jordan has achieved impressive results in improving the quality of infrastructure in the energy and water sectors and these gains need be sustained." The first loan valuing USD 54 million would be used to finance Wadi Al-Arab Water System II to improve drinking water availability for the growing population in the Northern Governorates, which has been significantly increased by the large number of Syrian refugees in the area.
The second loan of USD 72 million would finance the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) Green Corridor project, which is an essential part of Jordan's renewable energy development programme.
The project will strengthen the country's high-voltage electricity transmission backbone, enabling new facilities generating large amounts of renewable energy to be connected to the network, and electricity to be transmitted from the central/southern desert areas to Amman, where generation is fossil-fuel based.
On the grants agreement, Minister Fakhoury said that Jordan would receive USD 54 million grants to support the occupational and professional education and two grants of USD 17.5 million to support local communities hosting Syrian refugees and integrate 140,000 Syrian students in the educational system.
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