Disi-Amman water conveyor

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In June 2009, the US$951 million Disi-Amman water conveyor project reached financial close under a 25-year BOT contract. The project consisted of the development, construction and operation of a well field system with 55 wells, a 325-kilometer pipeline, a new concrete reservoir east of Amman at Abu Alanda, and connection to an existing reservoir at Dabuk, northwest of Amman. It was implemented under a 25-year BOT contract whereby the Government of Jordan acting through the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Water Authority of Jordan agreed to pay on a take-or-pay basis a water tariff for the delivery of the bulk water. The water conveyance system was to provide 100 million cubic meters of potable water a year for municipal and industrial users of Amman from the Rum Aquifer in the south of Jordan. The project was awarded in September 2007 by the government of Jordan to GAMA Energy, a 50:50 joint venture between GAMA Holding (Turkey) and GE Energy Financial Services (United States). The award followed a competitive bidding process between three final tenders. The two other final bidders were Kuwait’s Utilities Development Company Holdings, and a joint venture comprising Italy’s Società Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua S.p.A. and Spain’s Aqualia. Financing was as follows: - US$190 million equity from GAMA Energy - US$300 million grant from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Jordan - US$125 million loan from European Investment Bank (EIB) - US$250 million loan from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) - US$80 million loan from Proparco White & Case acted as legal adviser to the lender, Allen & Overy as legal adviser to the sponsors and Mott MacDonald as technical adviser to the sponsors. Construction was expected to take three to four years. The Disi project was expected to account for around 6 per cent of Jordan's total water consumption projected in 2015.