The compact that the Millennium Challenge Corp. is developing with Jordan focuses on the water sector, Omar Hopkins, the agency’s associate director, said during a live Web chat on March 22, World Water Day. Hopkins explained that final details of the compact are awaiting approval from the MCC board. He did say it would most likely cover water resource management, sanitation collection system expansion, wastewater treatment expansion and water resource management. The compact’s target area will be Zarqa, one of the poorest areas in Jordan.
According to Hopkins, MCC already invested approximately USD1.3 billion in water-related projects in the developing world. Hopkins explained that some 40 percent of these funds were used to improve water supply, hygiene and sanitation, while the other 60 percent were for water productivity and irrigation projects.
Spending for water projects, according to Hopkins, represents approximately 18 percent of the USD7 billion total funding under MCC’s signed compacts.
