Towards improved partnerships in the water sector in the Middle East : A case study of Jordan

This dissertation focuses on the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the water sector in Jordan, a Middle East pioneer with respect to experimenting with different approaches to delivering water services in both cities and rural areas. Jordan's efforts to decentralize water services began in the late 1990s at the prodding of the World Bank. A management contract was awarded to a private consortium to operate and maintain Amman's water system. One major stumbling block has been finding the right organizational and legal arrangements. In this inquiry, I selected four cases that vary in terms of the institutional arrangement which I hypothesize impacts the effectiveness of partnerships. These were (i) the Greater Amman water supply and wastewater services management contract; (ii) the Northern Governorates Water Administration Managing Consultant contract; (iii) the water user cooperatives in the Jordan Rift Valley; and (iv) the Red Dam Cooperative for Agricultural Water Reuse in Wadi Mousa. I selected four indicators to assess effectiveness: water quality, sustainability of the water supply, affordability and financial arrangements, and efficiency of the water services. My initial expectations were confirmed: institutional arrangements did have a significant impact on partnership effectiveness. The factors that appear to have the most impact are the contracts, the structure of governance arrangements, and the legal context. Contracts embodying clearly defined targets are deemed crucial in ensuring accountability to customers receiving water services.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Odeh, Nancy

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lawrence E. Susskind.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/55134

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/55134