Japan will grant $12.6 million dollars to Jordan to finance the second phase of the Project for Rehabilitation and Expansion of the Water Networks, in the Kingdom’s Balqa Governorate, Petra news agency has reported.

In a statement following the signing of the agreement, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Imad Fakhoury, said the aid grant is continuation of the Balqa project, the first stage of which was completed by JICA at the end of 2014 at the cost of $ 20 million.

The minister expressed appreciation of the Japanese government for its support of Jordan alongside its understanding of the socio-economic challenges faced by the Kingdom as a result of hosting around 1.4 Syrian refugees.

He added that the grant would contribute to enhancing government services for refugee and hosting communities.

Shuichi Sakurai, Japan's envoy in Jordan, stressed his country's commitment to providing different financial and technical aid programs to Jordan, adding that such programs would contribute to developing bilateral ties.

According to official figures, Jordan has obtained from Japan about USD 1.3 billion in soft loans, grants and technical assistance.