But addressing the problem would require cross-border cooperation, a commodity as scarce as water in the Jordan River basin shared by Jordan, Israel, the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. Israel is being aided by technological advances, easy access to sea water and a strong economy that can afford large-scale projects, he said. Jordan’s main population center is about 300 kilometers (190 miles) from the only coastline, making it prohibitively expensive to deliver desalinated Red Sea water to the capital, Amman. Jordan would desalinate Red Sea water, sell some to nearby southern Israel and pump the brine into the Dead Sea to raise water levels there. He said Jordan remains committed to the regional project but will also look at fallback options.

Source: Egypt Independent October 31, 2017 06:56 UTC