(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Jordan is preparing to open additional Syrian refugee camps, relief officials say, after a month that saw a record 30,000 Syrians flee to the country.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Amman and the UN are currently examining sites for the country's third and fourth Syrian refugee camps to host displaced families by the end of the year.
The new facilities are to complement the existing Zaatari camp in Mafraq, which at 25,000 persons is nearing its initial-phase capacity, and a second camp is currently under construction in the border region of Ribaa Sirhan.
"We are moving forward with plans to open more camps, because if the violence in Syria continues as it has, Zaatari and Ribaa Sirhan simply won't be enough," UNHCR Representative in Jordan Andrew Harper told The Jordan Times.
Amman's bid to open more camps comes in parallel with efforts to expand Zaatari's capacity to 80,000 persons by the end of the year, a project that carries an estimated $150 million price tag, and to establish a UAE-funded camp to host some 20,00 Syrians in Ribaa Sirhan.
Meanwhile, Tunisia has offered to fund the establishment of an additional camp in Jordan in a bid to alleviate the burdens posed by a refugee community that surpassed 187,000 persons.
In a statement issued by the Tunisian presidential office on Tuesday, Tunisian officials announced they are working with Amman to facilitate the opening of a camp to be funded by the private "Tunisian Committee in Support of the Syrian Revolution".
Amman has denied receiving any official request from Tunisia.
The drive to expand refugee camps comes after an August that saw 30,000 Syrians flee to Jordan, part of what the UN has reported as a "record" exodus of 103,000 Syrians to neighbouring countries during the period.
Officials say the daily influx of Syrians has hovered around 2,000 since the month of August, which saw a record crossing of 10,000 Syrians in a 72-hour period.
"We are still seeing Syrians enter Jordan by the thousands, and this is putting a greater burden on the country each day," said Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Samih Maaytah.
Due to aid distribution logistics and growing pressures on the local housing market, Maaytah indicated that transferring Syrian families to camps remains "the best available solution" for Jordan.
Last week, Jordan launched a $429 million aid appeal in order to continue basic services for the growing Syrian refugee community, whose health and education needs are projected to cost the country $200 million alone.
Stopping short of threatening to turn back on its open-border policy, Amman has warned that it will consider "other options" should the international community fail to meet its aid plea.
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