Kuwait will finance energy-related projects worth $215 million (around JD152.31 million) in Jordan.
Planning Minister Ibrahim Saif and the director general of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), Abdul Wahab Al Bader, signed the deals in Amman, according to a ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times.
The funding is part of Kuwait's $1.25 billion (around JD8.86 billion) contribution to a $5 billion Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) grant to the Kingdom which will be disbursed over five years to finance development projects.
With these two deals, all the agreements for the Kuwaiti-financed development projects set to be implemented between 2012 and 2016 at a total cost of around $1,196,98 have been signed, except for around $80 million allocated to mega-projects, the statement said.
Under the two agreements, a $65-million liquefied natural gas terminal will be constructed in the Port of Aqaba with a maximum capacity of 715 million cubic feet of gas per day, the statement said.
The project aims at alleviating the Kingdom's energy woes and securing an additional source of natural gas to reduce electricity generation costs, the statement said.
The KFAED will also finance a $150-million wind power project in Maan Governorate to generate around 65 megawatts to reduce Jordan's over-reliance on fossil fuel in generating electricity, the statement said.
During a GCC summit in December 2011, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar decided to extend a $5-billion grant to the Kingdom over a five-year period to support development projects.
Jordan Times
7 May
