AMMAN — British Deputy Ambassador Helen Fazey on Monday inaugurated the prototype solar-powered wastewater treatment plant in Fuheis, developed with funding from the UK’s Newton-Khalidi Fund.

Jordanian engineering students have worked with industrial partners from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering and Jordan’s Industrial Research and Development Fund to design and build this innovative plant, according to a statement from the British embassy.

They have brought together expertise in a UK-Jordan joint initiative with a core focus in fostering innovation in energy-efficient and cost-efficient waste water treatment technology.

The project is implemented by De Montfort University from the UK and Al Balqaa Applied University in Jordan.

In her opening remarks, Fazey said: “Today, we see the success of a UK-Jordan collaboration between industry and academia addressing an issue of key importance to Jordan. The project supports Jordan’s aspiration to meet 11 per cent of water demand through wastewater treatment plants by 2025.”

“This ambition requires a skilled workforce and an innovative technology. I hope that those involved will take their experience with this prototype, and the process of communication and cooperation that brought them here, and make it into a stepping stone towards a new generation of engineers who can apply their academic learning to work with industrial partners,” she added.

The Newton-Khalidi Fund is underpinned by an agreement between the Ministry of Planning and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, according to the statement.

The Fund was launched at the 8th World Science Forum hosted by the Royal Scientific Society at the Dead Sea in November 2017. It is designed to promote economic development and social cohesion in Jordan by supporting research collaboration between Jordanian and UK-educated and trained scientists, researchers and engineers, according to the statement.

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