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The plant at the port of Aqaba will convert 300 million cubic meters of seawater per year and transport it via a 450-kilometer aqueduct to the capital Amman — benefiting more than 3 million people in a country where rain is almost a fiction
As reported by Modern Diplomacy in October 2025, the Green Climate Fund approved a record package of US$ 295 million for the project — the largest single investment from the fund in climate adaptation.
The Jordanian Minister of Water, Raed Abu Soud, described the project as “strategic” and stated that it will deliver 300 million cubic meters of clean water annually.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Jafar Hassan confirmed to parliament that the total value exceeds US$ 5 billion, with an estimated construction period of 4 years.
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According to Fanack Water, the project is led by a Franco-Egyptian consortium formed by Meridiam, SUEZ, Orascom Construction, and VINCI Construction Grands Projets.
US$ 6 billion from 4 continents: how to finance water in the desert
On the other hand, the financing of the project reveals the magnitude of the challenge. No single country — let alone Jordan — could afford this project alone.
Thus, the United States approved US$ 203 million in direct grants, plus US$ 300 million in additional grants and US$ 1 billion in loans.
Similarly, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank issued guarantees of US$ 1.25 billion in December 2025.
Consequently, the project has become a global model for climate financing — proving that it is possible to attract private capital for water infrastructure in arid regions.
A senior official involved in the negotiations stated that the climate fund “will cut water costs by about 10 cents per liter and save the government US$ 1 billion over the life of the project.”
Why Jordan cannot wait: +4°C and -20% rainfall by the end of the century
Indeed, Jordan is one of the four driest countries on the planet. Rivers are rare. Aquifers are depleting. The population is growing.
According to climate projections, the country will face an increase of 4 degrees Celsius in average temperature and a reduction of more than 20% in rainfall by the end of the century.
Above all, water rationing is already routine. Residents of Amman receive water from the taps only one or two days a week, storing it in water tanks on the roof for the rest of the week.
In this sense, the Aqaba plant is not a prestige project. It is a matter of survival.
Moreover, the 450-kilometer aqueduct will transport water from the Red Sea in the far south to Amman in the north — crossing the Jordanian desert from end to end.
When completed, the plant will increase the country’s annual domestic water supply by nearly 60%.
While Jordan resolves in 4 years, Brazil’s Northeast has been waiting for decades
Moreover, the comparison is inevitable — and painful for Brazil.
According to official data, the northeastern semi-arid region is the driest area in the country. Approximately 1,500 municipalities face recurring droughts, and entire communities depend on water trucks and cisterns for drinking water.
The most ambitious solution ever attempted was the Transposition of the São Francisco River, which cost R$ 12 billion and took more than 15 years to be partially completed.
However, the transposition only solves part of the problem. Many communities in the interior of the Northeast are far from the channels and still lack access to treated water.
Despite this, desalination projects for the semi-arid region have been announced by the federal government on several occasions. Small units in Pernambuco and Ceará exist, but operate on a minimal scale.
Indeed, while Jordan mobilized US$ 6 billion from four continents in less than 3 years of negotiations, Brazil still does not have a national desalination program with a defined budget and delivery timeline.
Therefore, the speed of financial mobilization is impressive: in less than three years, Jordan closed agreements with the United States, the World Bank, the climate fund, and European companies — while countries with far more resources indefinitely delay similar solutions.
Thus, the contrast between countries that decide to act and countries that decide to study becomes increasingly glaring — especially when both face the same problem: populations without access to treated water in the 21st century.
The numbers that reveal the abyss
As a result, the scale difference between what Jordan is doing and what northeastern Brazil has is brutal.
Jordan: a single plant will produce 300 million cubic meters per year, enough for 3 million people. Cost: US$ 6 billion. Timeline: 4 years.
Northeastern Brazil: the few existing desalination units produce between 100 and 500 liters per second — hundreds of times less than the Jordanian project. Cost per small unit: R$ 5 to 10 million. Timeline: undefined.
Still, the most significant difference is not in the numbers. It lies in the political decision to solve the problem at once rather than managing it indefinitely with stopgap measures.
Jordan has decided that it no longer wants to depend on rationing. Brazil is still debating whether desalination is viable for the semi-arid region.
Saudi Arabia goes further: US$ 80 billion in new plants
On the other hand, Jordan is not the only country in the region betting on desalination as a definitive solution.
Similarly, Saudi Arabia, which already has the largest plants in the world, announced plans to invest US$ 80 billion in additional plants in the coming years.
Consequently, the country has turned desalination into basic infrastructure — as essential as highways or the electrical grid.
Therefore, while the Middle East treats water as a matter of national security and invests trillions, Brazil — which has the largest freshwater reserve on the planet — cannot distribute it to those who need it most.
The invisible cost: energy to turn sea into water
However, desalination is not magic. It is heavy engineering — and consumes a lot of energy.
According to experts, each cubic meter of water produced by reverse osmosis requires between 3 and 4 kWh of electricity.
Moreover, for a plant the size of Aqaba, the energy consumption is equivalent to a small city operating 24 hours a day.
Therefore, in the case of Jordan, the Franco-Egyptian consortium is negotiating renewable energy supply to keep operational costs under control.
For northeastern Brazil, where solar incidence is among the highest in the world, combining desalination with solar energy would be technically ideal. The energy is there. The seawater is there. What is lacking is the decision to connect the two.
What could go wrong — and what has already gone wrong
Despite this, the Jordanian project has real risks. Mega water infrastructure projects are notorious for delays and budget overruns.
Indeed, the very memorandum of understanding that gave rise to the project was signed in 2013 — meaning it took 12 years from the idea to the start of construction.
Still, the difference is that Jordan has finally started. The 450-kilometer aqueduct is being drawn. The financing is closed. The companies are contracted.
On the other hand, in the Northeast, the debate over whether desalination “is worth it” continues. And while the debate lasts, millions of Brazilians walk kilometers under the sun of the hinterland to fetch water in buckets.
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