Jordan, Israel sign water deal to save Dead Sea

Jordan and Israel signed a deal on Thursday to go ahead with a project to desalinate water and save the shrinking Dead Sea.

Government officials from Jordan and Israel signed the agreement at the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea on Thursday to implement the project.

Under the deal, an international tender will be offered during this year to implement the multi-billion U.S. dollars scheme, according to a statement by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

According to the deal, a desalination plant will be built in Aqaba for desalinating water from the Red Sea and salty residues will be pumped into the Dead Sea, which is shrinking by one meter every year.

In 2005, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel agreed to explore the Red-Dead Canal project, which entails pumping around two billion cubic meters of water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea annually, 800 million cubic meters of which will be desalinated as potable water for consumption.

The World Bank-supported initiative seeks to pump one billion cubic meters of water annually to raise the water level of the shrinking lake from 420 to 315 meters below sea level.

The project will also supply what will be the biggest desalination plant in the world, running on its own hydroelectric power. Endit