AMMAN, Aug. 19 -- Jordan announced on Monday that the Meridiam Suez consortium was the preferred bidder for the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project.

Chairing a Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh said that the state-run Special Procurement Committee chose Meridiam Suez as the preferred bidder after its bid met the technical and financial qualification requirements and passed the minimum required technical score, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

The 3-billion-U.S. dollar project entails desalinating and transporting 300 million cubic meters of fresh water from the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea to all regions of the kingdom.

The prime minister indicated that the committee would proceed with completing the procurement procedures and entering into direct negotiations with the bidder to implement the project.

According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan's annual per capita share of water stands currently at around 67 cubic meters, well below the international poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.

The country consumes 1.115 billion cubic meters of water annually, including 420 million cubic meters used for drinking and the remainder allocated for irrigation, industry, and other sectors.

  - Xinhua