Fazey opened the prototype solar-powered wastewater treatment plant in Fuheis, north of Amman — developed with funding from the Newton-Khalidi Fund — on Tuesday, reported the Jordan News Agency.

Jordanian engineering students have worked with industrial partners from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering and Jordan’s Industrial Research and Development Fund to design and build the plant.

They have brought together expertise in a UK-Jordan joint initiative, with a core focus in fostering innovation in energy-efficient and cost-efficient wastewater treatment technology.

The project is being implemented by De Montfort University in the UK and Jordan’s Al-Balqa Applied University.

Fazey said: “Today we see the success of a UK-Jordan collaboration between industry and academia addressing an issue of key importance to Jordan.

“This ambition requires a skilled workforce and innovative technology. I hope that those involved will take their experience with this prototype, and the process of communication and cooperation that brought them here, and make it into a stepping stone toward a new generation of engineers who can apply their academic learning to work with industrial partners.”

The Newton-Khalidi Fund is underpinned by an agreement between the Ministry of Planning and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

It was launched at the World Science Forum in November 2017, and is designed to promote economic development and social cohesion in Jordan by supporting research collaboration between Jordanian and UK-educated and trained scientists, researchers, and engineers.