Attarat: Jordan‘s Attarat power plant was envisioned as a landmark project promising to provide the desert kingdom with a major source of energy while solidifying its relations with China.
But weeks after its official opening, the site, a sea of black, crumbly rock in the barren desert south of Jordan’s capital, is a source of controversy. Deals surrounding the plant put Jordan on the hook for billions of dollars in debt to China – all for a plant that is no longer needed for its energy, because of other agreements made since the project’s conception.
The result is fuelling tensions between China and Jordan and causing grief for the Jordanian government as it tries to contest the deal in an international legal battle. As Chinese influence grows in West Asia and America withdraws, the $2.1 billion shale oil station has come to characterise China’s wider model that has burdened many Asian and African states with crippling debt and served as a cautionary tale for the region.
Conceived 15 years ago as a way to fulfill national ambitions of energy independence, the Attarat shale oil plant is now causing anger in Jordan because of its enormous price tag. If the original agreement holds, Jordan would have to pay China a staggering $8.4 billion over 30 years to buy the electricity generated by the plant.
But weeks after its official opening, the site, a sea of black, crumbly rock in the barren desert south of Jordan’s capital, is a source of controversy. Deals surrounding the plant put Jordan on the hook for billions of dollars in debt to China – all for a plant that is no longer needed for its energy, because of other agreements made since the project’s conception.
The result is fuelling tensions between China and Jordan and causing grief for the Jordanian government as it tries to contest the deal in an international legal battle. As Chinese influence grows in West Asia and America withdraws, the $2.1 billion shale oil station has come to characterise China’s wider model that has burdened many Asian and African states with crippling debt and served as a cautionary tale for the region.
Conceived 15 years ago as a way to fulfill national ambitions of energy independence, the Attarat shale oil plant is now causing anger in Jordan because of its enormous price tag. If the original agreement holds, Jordan would have to pay China a staggering $8.4 billion over 30 years to buy the electricity generated by the plant.