Amman, Aug. 9 (Petra) – Water and Irrigation Minister Raed Abu Saud and Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smirat were briefed Sunday at the Dabouq Operations Center on the progress of a project, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor water networks, detect leaks and reduce water losses.
Funded by the U.S. government, the Smart Transformation Project for Water and Wastewater Services Management aims to improve the management of water facilities, enhance operational efficiency and transparency, and identify additional water quantities by reducing losses, Abu Saud noted.
According to a Ministry of Water and Irrigation statement, Abu Saud underlined the ministry’s commitment to integrating artificial intelligence into its development plans to improve water services, enhance resource management and reduce losses.
He highlighted that the project is the first of its kind in the Kingdom to use artificial intelligence to monitor water networks and enable the early detection of faults and leaks. In pilot areas where the system has been implemented, the technology has helped reduce network pressure and water losses while improving the efficiency of water distribution. Abu Saud explained that AI-powered analysis of big data on water consumption and demand is supporting planning and decision-making by enabling authorities to identify supply imbalances more quickly and develop immediate alternatives for supplying affected areas from other available sources.
He also pointed to progress by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Water Authority of Jordan and water companies in developing smart systems capable of forecasting water demand, prioritizing maintenance and responding more rapidly to complaints, particularly in Amman, which accounts for more than 50% of the Kingdom’s subscribers. The systems are expected to improve service quality and support the sustainable management of water resources.
Abu Saud stressed that smart technologies are an important tool in addressing Jordan’s water challenges by improving the management and use of available resources and supporting efforts to meet international standards for reducing water losses. He added that the ministry has a long-term plan to expand investment in innovative digital solutions and build the technical capabilities needed to maximize their benefits.
For his part, Smirat outlined the next phase of the project, which will focus on linking systems, integrating data, developing digital infrastructure and strengthening national capabilities in artificial intelligence, data analysis and the Internet of Things. These efforts will support more proactive and efficient government services and Jordan’s transition toward a digital economy driven by innovation and technology.
Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) CEO Mohammad Kharabsheh explained that the project is built around a unified smart platform connecting key operational systems across the water sector, including supervisory control and data acquisition systems, smart meter infrastructure, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and geographic information systems (GIS), through a centralized database.
The platform provides real-time data analysis and supports operational decision-making by integrating information from multiple systems to create a comprehensive view of water networks, facilities and resources.
Kharabsheh added that the integrated approach will reduce reliance on fragmented reports and manual data analysis, improving the speed and accuracy of operational responses, planning and decision-making.
//Petra// NQ
