Jordan wants Korea to join inland canal project

By Kim Se-jeong

Unlike neighboring countries in its region, Jordan is scarce in oil; and also faces a water shortage.

Jordanian Ambassador to Korea Omar Nahar said water is a scarce commodity there ― the country is one of the world's four driest nations.

Only 4 percent of its territory receives more than 300 millimeters of rainfall per year, while average precipitation is less than 200 millimeters, and even that evaporates quickly due to the dry climate.

To address the water issue, eight months ago the government announced an ambitious plan.

Called the "Jordan Red Sea Project" (JRSP), the program is to build a 200-kilometer-long canal connecting the Red Sea in the south to the Dead Sea in the north.

According to the plan, 2,150 million cubic meters of the Red Sea water is expected to move through the canal every year ― 930 million cubic meters of which will be processed as fresh water.

Fresh water will also reach Amman, the capital with 1.9 million residents that suffers from a severe lack of water.

Residential, commercial, recreational and industrial zones are expected to spring up along the canal as well as eco-parks, water pump stations, desalination facilities and hydroelectric power stations.

The 30-year plan will require approximately $30 billion in investments. It's a challenge that will be the ambassador's priority for the next couple of years in Korea.

Nahar is the first resident Jordanian diplomat in Korea. He arrived less than months ago, opening up a temporary new embassy in the Lotte Hotel.

"I have opened up embassies in other places, and that's in part why I was sent here," he said with a laugh.

He said enhancing "what are already very good bilateral relations" will be his job description, but the focus is undoubtedly going to be finding Korean investors that are interested in the JRSP and other Jordanian mega projects.

"Korean companies and businesses can function securely and shine through the Middle East and North African region," he said.

According to the ambassador, the project has another purpose ― saving the Dead Sea from extinction.

Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea has gone through droughts, reaching its lowest record of 423 meters below sea level this year. Studies have found that the water in the sea disappears at a rate of one meter every year.

Because of its unique value and what it brings into Jordan as a tourist attraction, the government is committed to maintaining the water in the sea.

Through the JRSP, Jordan is also hoping to be an energy independent country that will generate electricity from environment-friendly sources. Jordan now depends heavily on imported fossil fuel.

Hydroelectric power plants will be feasible with the canal, and so will nuclear power plants, which require lots of water to operate.

Jordan currently doesn't have any nuclear plants, but plans to build them to provide power for water desalination and generate electricity, enabling the country to be an energy exporter by 2030.

In fact, Jordan has the world's 11th largest uranium reserves.

In July this year, the Korean government offered a soft loan worth $70 million to the Jordanian government for building the country's first nuclear reactor, and transferring technologies.

The ambassador is anticipating the minister of megaprojects in Seoul soon. The minister, who is in charge of the JRSP, is expected to appeal to Korean investors.

Nahar said Korea, which has accomplished rapid economic development, has plenty of knowledge to share, and Jordan hopes to be on the receiving end of it.

The king of Jordan, Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, has shown particular interest, and that has seen him visit Korea three times already since the beginning of his reign, a relatively high number, the ambassador said.

"The two leaders share the same values, and His Excellency sees Korea as an example," he said, recalling his own experience of being part of the high-level delegation in 2004 with the king and in 2006 with Prime Minister Samir Rifai.

King Abdullah is once again expected to come next year, Nahar said, "to discuss cooperation with Korea."

Korea has an embassy and an ambassador in Amman. In 2009, Korea's Prime Minister Han Seung-soo was in the capital, and so was Song Min-soon, the foreign minister, in 2007.