Project record

Aqaba-Amman National Water Carrier marine works

The Gulf of Aqaba shoreline and coastal urban area, the marine setting for Jordan's National Water Carrier intake and outfall system

SUEZ

Jordan's National Water Carrier links a 300 million m3/year Red Sea desalination system to marine intake and brine-outfall works at Aqaba, a 438 km buried conveyance pipeline, four pumping stations, regulating tanks, and a 281 MW solar facility.

Project signal

Financing in Jordan

Current status Final technical and legal agreement signed; financial close still pending as of 7 July 2026 Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Jordan / Middle East

Segment

Marine utilities

Status

Final technical and legal agreement signed; financial close still pending as of 7 July 2026 / Confirmed

Last checked

15 July 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Marine utilities is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
Jordan Ministry of Water and Irrigation / Water Authority of Jordan
Delivery parties
National Carrier Project Company, Meridiam, SUEZ
Contract route
Thirty-year public-private partnership under a build-own-operate-transfer / design-build-finance-maintain-operate-transfer concession with National Carrier Project Company
Execution window
The ESIA gives an indicative approximately 48-month build and the government retains a 2030 operating target. Construction remains conditional on financial close, which the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said on 7 July 2026 was still being completed.
Works package
A 300 million m3/year SWRO system with a shoreline intake lagoon and pumping station, nearshore outfall and diffuser, desalination plant, approximately 438 km buried steel conveyance pipeline, four pumping stations, regulating and pressure-control tanks, a 281 MW solar facility, substations, and transmission works.
Marine interfaces
The marine system combines shoreline excavation, temporary cofferdams, revetment and seawall work, nearshore trenching, a temporary jetty, floated and sunk outfall sections, diffuser placement, seabed protection, fish-recovery and intake controls, and brine-dispersion performance beside Aqaba's industrial and port zone and south of the marine reserve.
Commercial evidence boundary
The concession and core developer structure are already established. Near-term value is most likely to sit in EPC and specialist supply-chain mobilisation, marine temporary works, nearshore trenching and pipe installation, surveys, environmental monitoring, diffuser and seabed-protection installation, commissioning support, and cross-package interface control rather than a new project-level concession competition.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

The water ministry confirmed financial close was still incomplete

The ministry said it was continuing efforts to complete financial close and that close would pave the way for implementation. This is the latest public gate: it does not prove notice to proceed, marine mobilisation, accepted final design, physical intake or outfall work, or construction commencement.

Source

Jordan signed the final technical and legal agreement

The government marked completion of 16 months of technical, legal and financial negotiation and kept financial close and construction launch as later steps. The agreement advances contractual readiness; it is not financial close, a notice to proceed, marine-package mobilisation or physical construction evidence.

Source

AIIB approved USD 250 million of nonsovereign financing

AIIB approved its financing and set construction-phase environmental and social monitoring expectations. Lender approval contributes to the finance stack but does not establish that all financing conditions are met or that financial close, drawdown, NTP or marine works have occurred.

Source

EBRD approved a senior loan of up to USD 475 million

EBRD board approval set out the proposed senior financing and Category A environmental framework. The project remained at Approved rather than Signed or Implementing status, short of financial close or construction release.

Source

The lender disclosure fixed the current marine design and controls

The disclosed ESIA package defines the shoreline lagoon, possible cofferdam, nearshore trench, temporary jetty, approximately 3,000 mm outfall, eight-riser diffuser, seabed protection and marine monitoring sequence. Disclosure establishes the assessed design basis, not final design acceptance, permits discharge, construction start or installed marine geometry.

Source

EIB recorded the latest signature in a EUR 427 million support package

The EIB project record lists five EIB and EU financing or grant signatures through 24 July 2025, totalling EUR 427 million. These commitments support the wider funding plan but do not on their own prove project financial close, NTP or marine construction.

Source

The Meridiam-SUEZ consortium signed the 30-year concession

The concession created the project company and assigned long-term financing, construction and operating responsibility. SUEZ explicitly made construction conditional on financial close, leaving mobilisation and physical progress ahead.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Financial close and notice to proceed
  • Final marine intake, lagoon, outfall, and diffuser design
  • Cofferdam, temporary-jetty, trenching, and marine plant mobilisation
  • Aqaba marine-reserve, turbidity, fish-recovery, and brine-dispersion controls
  • Convergence of the marine works, desalination plant, 438 km conveyance system, and power facilities

Related records 2

Reporting status

Financing, confirmed confidence

Last checked 15 July 2026 across 7 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 15 July 2026 Cited sources 7

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 7