The Government of Jordan revealed the start-up phase of the project of the Red Sea water carrier known to the media as 'Al Bahrain Canal,' which will begin the first phase between 2010 and 2014. Engineer Nader Elzahaby, Prime Minister of Jordan, confirmed that the raised concerns about the creation of the Canal and its impact on the Suez Canal in Egypt are 'far from the truth.' Alzahaby said, during his meeting with the Egyptian press to mark the celebration of Jordan's independence, that his country suffered a severe water crisis, pointing out that the government intends to establish a water carrier and that the Canal is not open, according to environmental study released earlier, which was prepared by experts from the Cairo University and funded by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment.
The Jordanian Prime Minister said that the canal will "revive people who are almost dying of thirst." Jordan is considered the fourth poorest country in the world in regards to water. He pointed out that water was cut off from the Jordanian capital for more than six days a week, clarifying that each district of Oman receives water only once a week. In a related development, Raed Abu Saud, the Jordanian Minister of Water, criticized the raised concerns about the impact of the Canal on the Suez Canal, adding that the Canal is a 'pipeline.' He said there is an agreement between Jordan, Palestine and Israel to divide the water, where Jordan will receive 70 % of the water, Palestine receives 20% and Israel 10%.
Abu Al-Saud pointed out that the first phase will cost $2 billion and will pump an estimated water amount of between 150 and 190 million cubic meters as of next year. The second phase will start from 2016 until 2018; the third phase will be from 2022 until 2025, with the fourth phase between 2030 until 2035.
He clarified that the water recovered after desalination is not transferred to the Red Sea, according to the study, and so it will not affect the coral reefs. On the other hand, Engineer Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President of the Arab Water Council, said he will meet with the Jordanian Minister of Water next week, pointing out that the concerns and objections during the presentation of the Egyptian project in 1998 were related to specific environmental causes connected to marine life in the Red Sea. Abu Zaid said in an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, that the surroundings of the water outlet pipe will incur adverse environmental changes that will affect marine life.
