Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project

About the project

The proposed Series of Projects (SOP) provides the investment support and long-term approach needed for full implementation of the Water Sector Financial Sector Roadmap and to improve the efficiency and resilience of the water sector. Through the SOP, multiple projects financed by the World Bank contribute to the Government’s objectives to improve efficiency, service delivery and financial sustainability of the water sector. The SOP is expected to be implemented between 2023 and 2032, through three proposed investments beginning with the proposed project, followed by two further investments in sector efficiency. The program is aligned with, and will contribute to, the Economic Modernization Vision, Government’s National Strategy for the Water Sector, and Non-Revenue Water Reduction and Energy Efficiency Strategies.

Project Development Objective (PDO)

To improve the efficiency of water services in Jordan

Project Implementation Status

In July 2025, the Bank downgraded the implementation progress rating to Moderately Unsatisfactory due to the slow pace of procurement. Subsequently, the Bank held the project’s Mid-Term Review in September 2025, where the team worked closely with the client to take stock of the project, identify bottlenecks and to plan to adjust the project where necessary. The MTR confirmed the strong relevance of all project components to the Economic Modernization Vision, the Reform Matrix 2.0, and the Country Partnership Framework and will significantly contribute to reducing non-revenue water (NRW) and improving financial sustainability before the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project is operational. The MTR found that the PDO can still be achieved if additional significant delays are not encountered and the implementers accelerate the overall pace of implementation, therefore the PDO rating is maintained as Moderately Satisfactory (MS). The MTR mission confirmed that the PDO captures the main outcome level objectives of the project and that the PDO indicators adequately capture the intended results of the Project. Based on the MTR, it appears likely that indicator targets need to be adjusted to more precisely align with priority sub-projects that will be carried out under this project. The MTR found that some PBCs would need to be streamlined and adjusted to facilitate implementation and that resources will need to be reallocated from more complex or sub-projects to those that can be more efficiently implemented and from Component 2 (energy) to Component 1 (NRW) to align with client demand and implementation capacity.

The pace of implementation has moderately improved during the reporting period, with the many design and technical assistance contracts awarded at the time of this report. This improvement in implementation leverages the recently mobilized Hands-On Extended Implementation Support for procurement as well as environmental and social requirements and as well as the focused capacity building events and support for the Project Implementation Units. During the MTR, the client also agreed to use more efficient procurement methods (e.g., design-build contracts). The government has also made a concerted effort to improve project management and implementation capacity, including nomination of a Project Manager, providing additional staff to the PMU and key PIUs. Project implementation is projected to proceed at a faster pace in the next reporting period as designs advance and works contract procurement are initiated.

Relevant Documents:

• Project Information Document (PID)
• World Bank Project Information Page