The DFC announced the approvals on 16 September 2026. The package combines a loan of up to $1bn with political-risk insurance worth up to $800m. Together, they back Jordan’s National Water Carrier project — one of the largest water-infrastructure schemes in the Middle East.
The loan flows directly to National Carrier Project Company, the project’s special-purpose vehicle. The political-risk insurance, meanwhile, covers the project’s two equity investors: Meridiam SAS and Suez International SAS. Meridiam holds a 90 per cent stake; Suez retains the remaining 10 per cent.
How the financing structure works
The project’s capital cost stands at roughly $4.3bn. Total costs, including financing, reach approximately $5.8bn, per DFC figures. International partners have contributed about $663m in grants. Donors include the United States, European Union, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and the Green Climate Fund.
That grant layer reduces private-capital exposure. It also gives the project a stronger base for financial close. The blended structure — grants, development-finance loans and political-risk insurance — is now a template gaining traction across the wider Middle East corridor.
Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation is the public counterpart in this public-private partnership. National Carrier Project Company designs, builds, operates and maintains the entire system under that framework. The arrangement gives private investors a long-term operating mandate, not simply a construction contract.
What does this deal mean for investors?
The project’s core asset is a seawater desalination plant in Aqaba. It is designed to produce 300 million cubic metres of desalinated water each year. From Aqaba, roughly 450 kilometres of pipelines and pumping systems carry that water north — including to Amman.
A dedicated solar-generation facility will power the system. That renewable link keeps operating costs manageable and aligns the project with international climate-finance criteria. The Green Climate Fund grant reflects precisely that alignment.
For contractors and infrastructure funds, the project offers several distinct entry points: desalination engineering, long-distance water transmission, renewable power generation and multi-decade operations and maintenance. Each segment carries its own risk-return profile.
The DFC framed Jordan as facing severe water scarcity in its announcement. That framing matters. It signals that geopolitical and humanitarian factors are actively shaping how development-finance institutions deploy blended capital. Observers tracking Gulf capital and Arab-African trade trends will recognise this pattern widening across the region.
The key signal for capital allocators
Blended finance is moving critical water infrastructure from concept to construction. The DFC commitment materially de-risks the deal for private equity and project-debt providers. Financial close remains the next milestone to watch. After that, construction awards and the timeline to first water production will define the investment cycle. Lenders, equity co-investors and supply-chain players should position accordingly.
Quick answers
The DFC has approved up to $1.8bn in support — a loan of up to $1bn to the project’s special-purpose vehicle and political-risk insurance of up to $800m for equity investors Meridiam and Suez International.
The project includes a seawater desalination plant in Aqaba capable of producing 300 million cubic metres of water annually, roughly 450 kilometres of pipelines running north to Amman, and a dedicated solar facility to power the system.
Total project costs, including financing, are estimated at approximately $5.8bn, with a capital cost of roughly $4.3bn. Around $663m comes from international grants, with the remainder financed through development loans, equity and blended instruments.
