In 1997 The Programme Management Unit (PMU), was born as an organizational body assigned to carry out the management and administration of a number of projects. Due to its success, additional projects were progressively added to its remit.
1 The initial responsibility of the PMU was to :
- streamline the activities and the monitoring of two major projects, namely the Management Contract (MC) in Amman and the execution of a challenging restructuring and rehabilitation capital investment program (CIP) for the water supply in Greater Amman
- to continue being the counterpart for the activities under the GTZ/OMS project, that paved the way for the MC in Amman, and then to concentrate on Aqaba and, subsequently, on Irbid and the 4 northern Governorates. In 2000 the Financial Agreement for the GAWSIP project (Greater Amman Water Sector Improvement Project , JOR/B7-4100/IB/1999/0191 MEDA/628/JOR/007/A ) with an execution period from April 2001 until April 2005, was signed between MWI and European Union after the MWI request at the end of 1997. This support was a significant step forward for PMU / GAWSIP’s activities and performance since it provided the means to recruit staff for a number of key positions and created an operational environment that enabled the PMU / GAWSIP to better achieve its aims. The continuous support of the Ministry and the Water Authority added further value to PMU / GAWSIP’s undertakings. It should be stressed that the results achieved through supporting projects, such as GTZ/OMS and JICA water loss reduction added to the positive developments.
2 The duties of the PMU / GAWSIP have been successively amended by further assignments, such as the Non-Revenue Water and water loss reduction in the Kingdom (2000), the BOT As-Samra project (2001), the implementation of a SCADA system for Greater Amman (2002) and, recently, the assignment of overall coordination of expansion of the GIS activities countrywide and preparing the grounds for the participation of MWI in the “National GIS Framework” project.
3 In responce to the PMU / GAWSIP project proposal, outlining the envisaged field of activities and proposed expansion of its scope towards broader sector issues while utilizing the experiences made in the various projects, the European Union approved, in 2004, further funds under an addendum to the GAWSIP project (PMU / GAWSIP I) for “Immediate Measures” that covered a transitional period up to April 2006.
In mid of 2005 PMU / GAWSIP presented a paper “The Future Development of the PMU / GAWSIP”, which formed the basis for the scope of work, contained in the financing agreement of the “Al-Meyyah” project “Supporting Management of Water Services in Jordan JOR/MED/2004/006-087”
The agreement was signed on 20 October 2005 and the Implementation activities started on 4 April 2006.
The Al-Meyyah Project aims at the enhancement and acceleration of this development through a systematic, sector-oriented approach in support of Jordan's adopted Water Strategies and Policies and within the framework of MoI's Action Plan (Extension) 2002 - 2010. The general strategies adopted to achieve such aims are:
- Establishment of operating principles that follow commercial practices;
- Preparation of the relevant institutions within the PMU so that they are able to provide a capable auditing and monitoring function.
The following overview shows the projects which are scheduled and their progress as part of their contribution to the overall targets:
PMU Authorization
The Financing Agreement for the Al-Meyyah Project quotes under Annex 2,
Technical and Administrative Provisions, paragraph II.1, Institutional Structure
and Responsibilities:
“For this project the PMU / Al Meyyah is duly delegated by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to implement the project, authorize payment order, order payments and act as contracting authority, except in those cases where the TAPs specify that the Commission shall order payments and/or act as the contracting authority and as far as Jordanian law allows.”
The Agreement further states under the same paragraph: “The PMU Al Meyyah will operate under the control of an Executive Management Board (EMB) comprised of the Minister and other stakeholders including inter-alia:
- The Secretary General of the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ)
- The Secretary General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI)
- The Secretary General of Jordan Valley Authority (JVA)
- The Director of the PMU / Al Meyyah
- Senior Advisors
The Commission will act in an advisory capacity at the EMB.
The Programme Management Unit (PMU) of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) is a special task force that is currently charged with the execution of the EC co-funded Al-Meyyah Project.
The PMU was originally established in 1997 for the purpose of coordination and execution of the first large-scale management contract for the water and wastewater services in Jordan’s capital, as well as a large capital investment programme for Greater Amman’s water supply facilities. Building up on these major functions and also being the counterpart of the GTZ/OMS project, PMU gained a reputation for expertise, knowledge and innovation so as to enable it to address water sector problems in a broader sense.
A major breakthrough in the PMU’s expertise has been accomplished during a 5 year period under the EC co-financed Greater Amman Water Sector Improvement Programme (GAWSIP). The PMU received during this period, from April 2001 till April 2006, substantial support in staff training, long-term and short-term expertise as well as general office support.
The majority of the web-pages deal with the Al-Meyyah project, yet there are also other pages that refer back to GAWSIP. We hope that you will find our web-site informative and useful.