In 1997 The Program Management Unit (PMU), was born as an organizational body assigned to carry out the management and administration of a number of projects. Due to its success, additional projects were progressively added to its remit.

1.      The initial responsibility of the PMU was to:

     - streamline the activities and the monitoring of two major projects, namely the Management Contract (MC) in Amman and the execution of a challenging restructuring and rehabilitation capital investment program (CIP) for the water supply in Greater Amman

     -  To continue being the counterpart for the activities under the GTZ/OMS project, that paved the way for the MC in Amman, and then to concentrate on Aqaba and,

          - Subsequently, on Irbid and the 4 northern Governorates. In 2000 the Financial Agreement for the             GAWSIP project (Greater Amman Water Sector Improvement

     -  Project, JOR/B7-4100/IB/1999/0191 MEDA/628/JOR/007/A) with an execution

period from April 2001 until April 2005, was signed between MWI and European Union after the MWI request at the end of 1997. This support was a significant step forward for PMU / GAWSIP’s activities and performance since it provided the means to recruit staff for a number of key positions and created an operational environment that enabled the PMU / GAWSIP to better achieve its aims. The continuous support of the Ministry and the Water Authority added further value to PMU / GAWSIP’s undertakings. It should be stressed that the results achieved through supporting projects, such as GTZ/OMS and JICA water loss reduction added to the positive developments.

      2.   The duties of the PMU / GAWSIP have been successively amended by further assignments, such                  as the Non-Revenue Water and water loss reduction in the Kingdom (2000), the BOT As-Samra                  project (2001), the implementation of a SCADA system for Greater Amman (2002) and, recently,              the assignment of overall coordination of expansion of the GIS activities countrywide and                            preparing the grounds for the participation of MWI in the “National GIS Framework” project.

      3.     In response to the PMU / GAWSIP project proposal, outlining the envisaged field of activities and                 proposed expansion of its scope towards broader sector issues while utilizing the experiences                       made in the various projects, the European Union approved, in 2004, further funds under an                     addendum to the GAWSIP project (PMU / GAWSIP I) for “Immediate Measures” that covered a                   transitional period up to April 2006.

       In mid of 2005 PMU / GAWSIP presented a paper “The Future Development of the PMU / GAWSIP”, which formed the basis for the scope of work, contained in the financing agreement of the “Al-Meyyah” project “Supporting Management of Water Services in Jordan  JOR/MED/2004/006-087”

The agreement was signed on 20 October 2005 and the Implementation activities started on 4 April 2006.

The Al-Meyyah Project aims at the enhancement and acceleration of this development through a systematic, sector-oriented approach in support of Jordan's adopted Water Strategies and Policies and within the framework of MoI's Action Plan (Extension) 2002 - 2010. The general strategies adopted to achieve such aims are:

• Establishment of operating principles that follow commercial practices;
• Preparation of the relevant institutions within the PMU so that they are able to provide a capable auditing and monitoring function.