PepsiCo-Jordan has signed an agreement with the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) to construct a new water dam in Amman.

According to the agreement, PepsiCo-Jordan will fund and execute the project valued at JD130,000 ($183,000) in Abu Kataf valley, located west of Qasr Al-Harraneh.

This project comes in line with PepsiCo-Jordan’s partnership agreement with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), and is the third of several initiatives which fall under Jordan’s nationwide Positive Water Balance Project.

The agreement was signed at the JVA headquarters in the presence of JVA secretary general Saad Abu Hammour, PepsiCo-Jordan’s operations director Amjad Ameareh and its public relations manager Mohammad Arabiyat.

Implementing this project corresponds with PepsiCo-Jordan’s CSR programs geared towards conserving natural resources and promoting environmental sustainability, particularly in light of Jordan’s pressing water shortage.

Scheduled to be completed within six months, the Abu Kataf water dam - nine meters in height, 300 meters in length and 200,000 sq m in capacity - will collect rainwater to recharge underground water reserves for irrigation purposes. An open channel will also be constructed to collect surplus water.

“I would like to thank PepsiCo-Jordan for its unwavering efforts in supporting JWA’s water conservation projects, and urge both public and private sector organizations to join forces to conserve our natural resources and achieve a positive water balance for upcoming generations,” said Abu Hammour.

“The Abu Kataf water dam is an extension of the projects PepsiCo-Jordan has executed in Wadi Al-Ahmar and Al-Jeezeh, all of which fall under the Positive Water Balance Project that aims to restore 560,000 cu m of water by 2014,” said Ameareh.

“At PepsiCo-Jordan, we believe that it is our duty to support water projects across the Kingdom, particularly in light of the water challenges Jordan is facing.”

In addition to constructing the Abu Kataf dam, PepsiCo-Jordan rehabilitated the ancient Roman pond in Al-Jeezeh, facilitating a total of 60,000 cu m of Wadi Al-Jeezeh rainwater to be collected from a 280 sq km harvesting area, ensuring that the pond remains filled to its maximum capacity, hence benefiting farmers and livestock breeders in the area.

PepsiCo-Jordan has also covered the entire construction costs of the Wadi Al-Ahmar dam project in Tafileh, which features a water capacity of 200,000 cu m. The Wadi Al-Ahmar dam is aimed at collecting rainwater using advanced water harvesting techniques. – TradeArabia News Service