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UNCLAS AMMAN 000299 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/RA, AND OES 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV PREL JO
SUBJECT: THIRD RED-DEAD DONOR COMMITTEE MEETING IN THE HAGUE 
 
REF: A. 09 Amman 1915 
 ¶B. 09 Tel Aviv 1726 
 ¶C. 09 State 78652 
      ¶D. 09 Amman 1472 
      ¶E. 09 Amman 1116 
 
(U) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  The third donor committee meeting of the Red Sea 
- Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program (RDS) convened in The 
Hague on January 28.  The World Bank, along with the beneficiary 
parties, chaired the meeting attended by almost all of the donors 
with the exception of Japan and Greece.  The RDS 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 relationship between the RDS and the 
Jordan Red Sea Project (JRSP) was discussed, with Jordan stating 
that its national project would not commence till the RDS was 
completed.  While France stated its opposition to unilateral 
initiatives such as the JRSP, the Palestinian Water Authority noted 
Jordan's right to develop its own desalination facilities but 
highlighted that if any brine were to enter the Dead Sea, the 
project would require a regional mandate.  The JRSP announcement in 
May 2009 and ensuing confusion about the overlap with the RDS has 
added six months to the RDS schedule with a current projected 
completion date of July 2011.  There was discussion regarding the 
need for a potential Phase II RDS Pilot project to reach any firm 
conclusions on the project viability.  It is likely that the RDS 
conclusions will not provide definitive "Yes/No" guidance, but 
rather a murkier range of alternatives.  End Summary. 
 
Jordan Explains Relationship between JRSP and RDS 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The third donor committee meeting of the Red Sea - Dead 
Sea Water Conveyance Study Program (RDS) met in The Hague on January 
28, to review the status of the proposed project study to 
rehabilitate the Dead Sea, generate hydropower, and construct a 
desalination plant to provide additional potable water to Jordan, 
Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.  Jordan introduced its Jordan 
Red Sea Project (JRSP) by reiterating the acute water crisis it 
faces and noting that water conveyance and desalination from the Red 
Sea was the only long-term option for Jordan to meets it increasing 
demands and water security.  Secretary General of the Jordan Valley 
Authority Mousa Jamaani described the JRSP as a 100 percent 
Jordanian project independent of the RDS.  He noted that options for 
disposing of the brine produced from desalination were still under 
study and included returning it to the Red Sea, discharging it in 
the Dead Sea, or using evaporation ponds on Jordanian soil.  The 
financial models for the JRSP are still in development and the 
project scope will be further defined once the models are completed. 
 Jamaani admitted that a possible convergence with the RDS would be 
the introduction of brine to rehabilitate the Dead Sea. 
Acknowledging that the JRSP has no independent environmental 
assessment, Jamaani went on to state that the JRSP would not start 
till the RDS was completed. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The French reiterated their previously stated position 
that there is no scope for unilateral initiatives such as the JRSP 
which would impact shared resources and eco-systems.  Palestinian 
Water Authority (PWA) Chair Dr. Shaddad Attili noted that Jordan has 
the right to develop its own desalination and conveyance mechanism, 
however, any introduction of brine into the Dead Sea would require a 
regional mandate and PWA concurrence.  (Note: Israeli Water 
Commissioner Uri Shani was on the phone for a significant part of 
the meeting and did not comment on the JRSP.  End Note). 
 
JRSP Contributes to RDS Schedule Slippage 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The original two-year RDS timeline has seen repeated 
slippages.  The JRSP announcement in May 2009 and ensuing confusion 
about the overlap with the RDS led the World Bank to delay the June 
2009 start of two critical 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 now set to start 
in February 2010 and will result in a delay of the RDS completion 
date to July 2011.  (Note:  The Technical Steering Committee (TSC), 
consisting of World Bank Chair Dr. Vahid Alavian, Shani, Attili, and 
Jamaani, consciously accepted the risk that the sub-studies would 
submit interim reports for inclusion in the larger project reports 
by July 2010.  Without this decision, the final RDS completion would 
be further delayed.  End Note).  The key milestones ahead of the RDS 
are: 
 
-- Start of Red Sea and Dead Sea Technical sub-studies: 
February/March 2010 
-- Mid-term report of technical sub-studies: October 2010 
-- Final report of technical sub-studies: July 2011 
-- Final report of Study of Alternatives: December 2010 
-- Preliminary draft RDS Feasibility Report: January 2011 
-- Final RDS Feasibility Report: June 2011 
-- Final Environment and Social Assessment Reports: June 2011 
 
¶5. (SBU) The lead consultants, Coyne et Bellier, which manage the 
feasibility study, and Environmental Resources Management (ERM), 
which is responsible for the Environmental and Social Assessment 
Study, were not present at the donors meeting.  The World Bank 
acknowledged that "not much work had been done in the last six 
months" by these firms since the delayed technical sub-studies were 
needed to contribute information to their feasibility and 
environmental studies. 
 
¶6.  (U) The $1.35 million Red Sea sub-study to measure the impact of 
water extraction from the Gulf of Aqaba has been awarded to Italian 
firm Thetis and will include sub-contractors from the Marine Science 
Station in Aqaba, the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences 
in Eilat, and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research 
institute.  The $1.5 million Dead Sea sub-study to examine the 
effects of mixing Red Sea and Dead Sea waters and the introduction 
of brine into the Dead Sea has been awarded to Israeli firm Tahal, 
which will also draw on several other Israeli sub-contractors.  The 
contracts for these are expected to be signed shortly with the 
sub-studies to be completed by July 2011.  As noted in para 5, the 
TSC has agreed that interim "best estimate" results from these 
sub-studies will be fed into the final Feasibility and Environmental 
Reports to allow the RDS to be completed by July 2011. 
 
Panel of Experts and Study of Alternatives 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (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 and 
advise the TSC.  In addition, the three beneficiary parties have 
each nominated an expert to lead a study of alternatives to the RDS. 
 Both these groups have been established and participated in a field 
trip to the region in October 2009.  Several follow-on meetings and 
trips are scheduled with the final study of alternatives report due 
by December 2010. 
 
RDS - Plan B? 
------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) There was discussion at the donors' meeting about the 
potential for the final RDS reports to not paint a conclusive 
picture, but rather present a range of alternatives.  The two 
sub-studies are also focused on mathematical modeling which some 
suggested would require further practical validation.  Israel 
suggested that any RDS results should be followed up by a Phase II 
or a pilot implementation that would test the introduction of brine 
into the Dead Sea.  The French supported this with potential 
additional French funding, while requesting that a pilot program be 
reversible if introducing brine into the Dead Sea indicated a 
negative outcome.  Although there is no scope or budget for what a 
pilot program might look like, one World Bank representative noted 
that a $100 million trial to validate a potential $8-10 billion 
project could be prudent.  At one stage, the discussion appeared to 
re-open the RDS scope and further extend the schedule.  The World 
Bank noted that the RDS consultants could develop a preliminary 
pilot scope and cost estimates in two-three months within the 
current RDS terms of reference.  Several donors, however, stated the 
importance of defining a clear "end point" for the RDS based on the 
current terms of reference, noting that additional schedule 
slippages would further detract from what is often perceived as an 
excessively delayed feasibility study.  The TSC eventually agreed 
that the RDS, as currently defined, would target completion by July 
2011, and a pilot implementation, if needed, would be a subsequent 
phase and require additional funding. 
 
Additional Donor Concerns 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The energy balance (for water transmission, hydropower 
generation, and desalination) is a key component of the RDS 
analysis.  It depends on a variety of factors such as the conveyance 
mechanism (tunnel, pipeline, or canal), location of the intake 
location in the Gulf of Aqaba, the location and altitude of 
desalination and hydropower facilities, as well as the location of 
brine discharge site.  France suggested that the RDS include 
sustainability considerations and include an analysis of integrating 
concentrated solar energy plants into the energy mix.  The World 
Bank agreed to examine this possibility but noted that the current 
terms of reference include an RDS energy analysis and cost 
estimation, but not an analysis of how any energy deficit should be 
sourced.  The initial estimates have identified an energy deficit in 
the 300-650 MW range for an RDS implementation. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment:  The RDS completion is subject to additional 
slippage, potentially even into 2012.  Although the World Bank 
procurement cycle will be completed once the contracts for the 
sub-studies are signed, the next 18 months include a significant 
number of intertwined reports that have to be coordinated and 
finalized.  Furthermore, the discussion on a possible validation 
pilot program, could make the RDS completion murky, leading to 
questions about the validity of the mathematical models and 
underlying assumptions in the feasibility study.  This will make it 
increasingly difficult for Jordan to hold to its recently stated 
position of awaiting the RDS completion prior to starting the JRSP. 
The Jordanian stance of using the RDS environmental study for the 
JRSP design will also be further complicated in that the RDS scope 
does not include any study for releasing the brine back into the 
Gulf of Aqaba, one possible JRSP option.  End Comment. 
 
Participant List 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  (U) The Netherlands co-chaired the meeting with the RDS TSC. 
Donor participation was almost identical to the last meeting in 
Athens (ref E).  Almost all donors (U.S., France, Italy, Korea, 
Netherlands, and Sweden) with the exception of Japan and Greece 
attended: 
 
Government of Netherlands (Host) 
Mr. Henne Schuwer, Director of Middle East and North Africa 
Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Ms. Ester Van Someren, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 
France 
Mr. Jean-Michel Linois-Linkovskis, Ministry of Ecology, Energy, and 
Sustainable Development 
Ms. 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 
 
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. Avi Goh, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem 
 
Jordan 
Mr. Mousa Jamaani, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and 
Irrigation/Jordan Valley Authority 
 
Palestinian Authority 
Dr. Shaddad Attili, Palestinian Authority Chair to the Technical 
Steering Committee 
 
The World Bank 
Dr. Vahid Alavian, World Bank Chair to the Technical Steering 
Committee 
Dr. Stephen Lintner, Technical Steering Committee 
 
RDS Study Management Unit 
Dr. Alexander McPhail, Head of Study Management Unit, World Bank 
Mr. Gershon Vilan, Israel 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The World Bank anticipates the next RDS Donor Committee 
meeting taking place in July/August 2010.  Italy offered to host the 
next meeting in Rome. 
 
 
BEECROFT