Eleven firms qualify for Dead Sea-Red Sea canal: Jordan - AFP

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Eleven firms qualify for Dead Sea-Red Sea canal: Jordan

Mon Jun 25, 12:40 PM ET

AMMAN (AFP) - Eleven firms have qualified to submit a
feasibility study to build a canal which would save the
slowly evaporating Dead Sea by replenishing it with water
from the Red Sea, an official said Monday.

The 25-year project to build a canal linking the two seas
would also solve a severe water shortage in the region of
Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, officials
said.

Jordanian Water Minister Zafer al-Aalem announced that
11 firms would be invited to "carry out a technical and
environmental feasibility study for the Red Sea-Dead Sea
canal," the Petra news agency reported.

-snip-

The canal will take about 25 years to build.

Once desalination plants are in place, it would eventually
ease the region's acute water shortage by providing up
to 850 million cubic metres (about 30 billion cubic feet)
of fresh water to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian
territories, Jordanian officials said.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070625/sc_afp/mideastjordan_070625155716