The King Abdullah Canal is the largest irrigation canal system in Jordan and runs parallel to the east bank of the Jordan River. It was previously known as the East Ghor Main Canal and renamed in 1987 after Abdullah I of Jordan.
Contents
Map of King Abdullah Canal, Jordan
History
The canal was designed in 1957 and was built in phases. Construction began in 1959, and the first section was completed in 1961. By 1966, the upstream portion to Wadi Zarqa was completed. The canal was then 70 km in length, and was subsequently extended three times between 1969 and 1987. The United States, through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided financing for the initial phase of project, after obtaining explicit assurances from the Jordanian government that Jordan would not withdraw more water from the Yarmouk than the amount allocated to it according to the Johnston Plan. It was also involved in later phases.
The original canal was part of a larger project - the Greater Yarmouk project - which envisioned two storage dams on the Yarmouk, and a future West Ghor Canal, on the West Bank of the Jordan. This other canal was never built, because Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War. After the Six-Day War, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operated from bases within Jordan, and launched several attacks on Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley, including attacks on water facilities. Israel responded with raids in Jordan, in an attempt to force king Hussein to rein in the PLO. The canal was the target of at least four of these raids, and was virtually knocked out of commission. The United States intervened to resolve the conflict, and the canal was repaired after Hussein undertook to stop PLO activity in the area.