EBRD provides $30m loan to promote energy efficiency in Jordan

The Clean Technology Business Review (CTBR) publication Energy Management/Energy Efficiency reports that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a $30m loan to promote energy efficiency in Jordan.

Al Abdali district in Amman, Jordan. Developed on 447,000 square meters of land, it includes more than 1,803,000 sq m of residential apartments, office space, commercial and retail outlets as well as entertainment. Photo: First Jordan Investment Co.

The loan to Jordan District Energy will fund the construction of the country’s first district cooling and heating plant.

Planned to be built at the Abdali Urban Regeneration development in Amman, the new facility will cut energy consumption by 41% per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 13,700 tonnes annually.

Abdali is Amman’s new downtown that provides the Jordanian capital with the central business, social and residential destination it needs as a regional business and tourism hub. Abdali is a unique endeavor in urban planning where business, living and leisure smoothly intertwine to create a model of modernization in the Kingdom and the region.

Suma Chakrabarti (left) and George Amireh. Photo: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Jordan District Energy acting general manager George Amireh said: “We greatly appreciate the EBRD’s cooperation in working with us to meet the new downtown area’s cooling and heating needs in a sustainable manner.”

EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti said: “This project underlines our commitment to supporting the energy sector in Jordan.

“The new plant will help make the Abdali development energy efficient and thereby sustainable. What is being achieved here will set the standard for the construction of similar commercial developments in the future and will also raise the profile of Amman as a business hub.”

In 2013, the EBRD provided a $80m loan for the Abdali Mall retail and entertainment centre, which serves the Abdali Urban Regeneration development.

The bank has to date invested €203m in seven projects in Jordan covering several sectors.

Source: IDEA