VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #1116/01 1331252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131252Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5089
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0004
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 4017
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 4167
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 0366
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0259
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1565
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 2152
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1607
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0070
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0073
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1717
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0289
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0879
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5518
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 0019

UNCLAS AMMAN 001116 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/RA, AND OES 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
CAIRO FOR VIALA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV PREL IS JO
SUBJECT: ATHENS RED-DEAD DONOR COMMITTEE MEETING 
 
REF: A. Amman 860 
      ¶B. Amman 508 
 
(U) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  The second donor committee meeting of the Red 
Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program (RDS) led by the World 
Bank convened in Athens on May 4. The RDS, which started in May 
2008, is studying the feasibility of rehabilitating the Dead Sea, 
generating hydropower, and constructing a desalination plant to 
provide additional potable water for the beneficiary parties 
(Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority).The World Bank along 
with the steering committee from the beneficiary parties chaired the 
meeting and the lead consultants, Coyne et Bellier and Environmental 
Resources Management, provided status reports.  All donors (with the 
exception of Japan) attended the meeting.  The $16.7 million in 
current donor funding has resolved previous RDS funding shortfalls. 
The World Bank is currently projecting a RDS completion date of 
December 2010, while acknowledging the potential for additional 
slippage.  A panel of independent experts is to be appointed shortly 
to review the project and study alternatives to the RDS. End 
Summary. 
 
Beneficiaries, Donors, and Consultants Convene 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Bank 
hosted the second donor committee meeting of the Red Sea - Dead Sea 
Water Conveyance Study Program (RDS) on May 4 in Athens.  The RDS, 
which started in May 2008, is studying the feasibility of 
rehabilitating the Dead Sea, generating hydropower, and constructing 
a desalination plant to provide additional potable water for the 
beneficiary parties (Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority). 
 All the donors (U.S., France, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, and 
Sweden) attended the meeting with the exception of Japan.  The RDS 
Technical Steering Committee, headed by World Bank Chair Dr. Vahid 
Alavian, Israeli Water Commissioner Uri Shani, Palestinian Water 
Authority Chair Dr. Shaddad Attili, and Secretary General of the 
Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser 
Shraideh, led the meeting.  The lead consultants, Coyne et Bellier 
which manages the feasibility study and Environmental Resources 
Management (ERM) which is responsible for the Environmental and 
Social Assessment Study, also provided updates along with the RDS 
Study Management unit.  Para 10 lists all the attendees. 
 
Funding Shortfall Resolved, but Slippage Likely 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3.  (U) With recent contributions from Sweden, South Korea, and 
Italy, the World Bank has been able to resolve the funding 
shortfalls that have plagued the RDS.  The current total donor 
contributions of $16.7 million are broken down as follows: 
France - $4 million 
Sweden - $3 million 
Italy - $2.7 million 
Japan - $2 million 
Netherlands - $1.5 million 
U.S. - $1.5 million (provided by USAID/Jordan) 
Greece - $1 million 
South Korea - $1 million 
 
¶4. (SBU) The RDS had an original timeline of two years when the 
study commenced in May 2008 with two main components - a feasibility 
study awarded to French consultants Coyne et Bellier (CEB), and an 
Environment and Social Assessment Study awarded to British firm ERM. 
However, some pre-requisite information originally assumed to be 
available was found lacking.  As a result, the World Bank now 
expects to start in June 2009 two technical sub-studies on the 
impact of mixing Red Sea and Dead Sea water, as well as the impact 
of water extraction from the Red Sea.  These sub-studies are likely 
to contribute to an overall slippage to the RDS completion date to 
December 2010.  When donors questioned the likelihood of meeting the 
tight timelines, the Steering Committee acknowledged the potential 
for additional slippage into 2011.  The technical complexity of the 
RDS was recognized by a Steering Committee member who remarked, "we 
are still finding new questions as we work on the answers."  The key 
milestones ahead of the RDS are: 
 
-- Appointment of Panel of Experts - May 09 
-- Start of Study of Alternatives - June 09 
-- Start of Red Sea and Dead Sea Technical Sub-studies - July 09 
-- Initiation of economic, legal, and institutional issues report - 
November 09 
-- Final Feasibility and Environment and Social Assessment Reports - 
December 2010 
 
Feasibility Study Updates 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Coyne et Bellier (CEB), the lead consultants for the 
Feasibility Study delivered their first assessment, the Options 
Screening and Evaluation report, in January 2009.  In this report, 
they examined 15 alternative conveyance scenarios which have now 
been narrowed down for more detailed evaluation.  The scope of water 
flows considered a range from 1,000 million cubic meters (MCM), the 
minimum inflow required to stabilize the Dead Sea at the prevailing 
level when the project is likely to be commissioned, to 2,000 MCM in 
which scenario the Dead Sea would stabilize at a target level of 
-411m by 2054.  (Note: The current Dead Sea water level is -425m and 
has been dropping on average a meter/year since 1985.  End Note.) 
It is expected that the brine from the desalination plant would 
create a layer on top of the current Dead Sea water (there used to 
be a layer of fresh water before the diminished fresh water supply). 
 Different scenarios for potable water provision to the beneficiary 
parties have also been considered with Jordan likely to get the bulk 
of the potential 850 MCM that could be available by 2060. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Some yet to be finalized recommendations from the 
consultants include a water intake location through a submerged 
bellmouth positioned at the site of a decommissioned thermal power 
plant in the Gulf of Aqaba along the Jordanian coastline .   The 
consultants are also considering a mix of conveyance mechanisms 
(tunnel, pipeline, canal) based on the conveyance system elevation 
for optimal water transportation.  Other technical issues under 
study include the most advantageous desalination process, the 
location of the desalination plant and hydropower facility, the 
ideal Dead Sea discharge location, and the best methodologies for 
transporting potable water to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian 
Authority.  The energy balance (for water transmission, hydropower 
generation, and desalination) in the different permutations being 
considered is a key element in the analysis.  CEB gave an 
"unofficial" estimate of $8 billion to implement the conveyance 
project. 
 
 
Environment and Social Assessment Study Updates 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶7. (SBU) ERM provided an update to its activities which include 
completion of an archaeological impact study to guide the selection 
of the final conveyance option, as well as several local-level 
public consultation meetings in Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian 
Authority with overall attendance by 306 people.  Key environmental 
issues such as the impact of mixing the Dead Sea and Red Sea waters, 
as well as the impact on the Gulf of Aqaba were common concerns in 
the consultation meetings.  ERM highlighted that its meetings in 
Israel generated the greatest public resistance to the project.  The 
technical sub-studies, scheduled to start shortly, will feed into 
the final Environment and Social Assessment Study.  Donors suggested 
that the public consultation process could be augmented by 
electronic outreach.  The World Bank agreed to take on the creation 
of a blog to track and convey project progress.  In response to 
donor queries regarding gender issues, ERM highlighted its plans for 
separate male/female meetings in Jordan since some Jordanian women 
did not want to attend mixed meetings. 
 
Additional Donor Concerns 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Several donors asked about Egyptian and Saudi Arabian 
concerns regarding the impacts on the Gulf of Aqaba.  The World Bank 
is planning to travel to these countries to provide them with 
updates as well as to liaise with the Jeddah based PRESGA - the 
regional seas organization whose responsibilities include monitoring 
marine life and water quality in the Red Sea.  Israeli Water 
Commissioner Shani noted that transparency was particularly critical 
for the RDS since the project impacted multiple parties, multiple 
eco-systems, and would have varied impacts on the different 
stakeholders. Donor questions regarding financing, institutional 
governance and operational mechanisms were generally deferred to the 
pending economic, legal and institutional issues report to be 
started in November 2009. 
 
Panel of Experts and Study of Alternatives 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  World Bank requirements and the RDS terms of reference 
mandate the appointment of an independent Panel of Experts to study 
the environmental impacts of a large project such as the RDS.  The 
World Bank provided a preliminary listing of its selected panel 
comprised of experts from the University of Capetown, the former 
Deputy Minister of Environment from Canada, a Chemistry professor 
from the University of Greece, and a former USAID project finance 
specialist.  This independent panel will advise the Technical 
Steering Committee.  In addition, the three beneficiary parties have 
each nominated an expert to a Panel of Experts to lead a study of 
alternatives to the RDS.  These alternatives could include the "no 
action" option, as well as the one proposed by many civil society 
NGOs to rehabilitate the Jordan River.  The Technical Steering 
Committee highlighted that the panel would need to develop criteria 
to screen possible options that could fulfill the RDS objects of not 
only rehabilitating the Dead Sea, but also generating hydropower and 
providing potable water.  The experts chosen by the beneficiary 
parties are: 
-- Jordan: Dr. Hussein Malkawi, Vice President of the Jordan 
University of Science and Technology; 
-- Israel: Dr. Yacor Tsiv, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and, 
-- Palestinian Authority: Dr. Anthony Allan, King's College London 
(winner of the 2008 Stockholm prize and pioneer of the virtual water 
concept). 
 
Participant List 
---------------- 
 
¶10.  (U) The following is the list of participants at the Second 
Donor Committee Meeting: 
 
Hellenic Republic (Host) 
Mr. Alexandros Tsiatsiamis, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Mr. Alexis Galinos, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 
France 
Mr. Jean-Michel Linois-Linkovskis, Ministry of Ecology, Energy, and 
Sustainable Development 
Mrs. Lise Breuil, Agence Francaise de Developpement 
 
Italy 
Mr. Filippo Scammacca, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Mr. Guido Benevento, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 
Korea 
Ambassador Shin Bong-kil, Embassy of Republic of Korea, Amman 
Mr. Geon Gyu-suk, First Secretary, Embassy of Republic of Korea, 
Athens 
 
Netherlands 
Mr. Hans Renia, Embassy of Netherlands, Athens 
 
Sweden 
Ms. Annika Johansson, Embassy of Sweden, Amman 
 
U.S. 
Mr. Manu Bhalla, ESTH Hub Officer, Embassy of United States, Amman 
 
Israel 
Mr. Uri Shani, Israel Chair to Technical Steering Committee 
Mr. Daniel Nevo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 
Jordan 
Mr. Nasser Shraideh, Secretary General, Ministry of Planning and 
International Cooperation 
Mrs. Maha Zubi, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation 
 
Palestinian Authority 
Dr. Shaddad Attili, Palestinian Authority Chair to the Technical 
Steering Committee 
Mr. Fuad Batah, Special Advisor to the Palestinian Water Authority 
 
The World Bank 
Dr. Vahid Alavian, World Bank Chair to the Technical Steering 
Committee 
Dr. Stephen Lintner, Technical Steering Committee 
 
Study Program Consultants 
Mr. David Meehan, Coyne et Bellier (Feasibility Study) 
Dr. Raymond Colley, Environmental Resources Management 
(Environmental and Social Assessment Study) 
Dr. Tim Smith, Environmental Resources Management 
 
RDS Study Management Unit 
Dr. Alexander McPhail, Head of Study Management Unit, World Bank 
Mr. Gershon Vilan, Israel 
Eng. Fayez Bataineh, Jordan 
Mr. Mohammed Mehany, World Bank, substituting for PWA Ibrahim 
Dajani 
 
Observers 
Prof. Michael Schoulos, University of Athens 
Prof. Konstantinos, University of Athens 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The World Bank hopes Sweden will host the next RDS Donor 
Committee meeting in the winter of 2009. South Korean Ambassador 
Shin Bong-kil offered to host the next meeting in Seoul if needed. 
 
¶12.  (U) This message has been cleared with Embassy Athens. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
 
BEECROFT