The kingdom of Jordan signed an agreement yesterday with a French-Egyptian consortium to build one of the world’s largest desalination plants, the New Arab news site reports.

The Aqaba Amman project is expected to cost more than $5bn, making it the country’s biggest-ever infrastructure project.

The lead contractor will be French infrastructure specialist Meridiam in partnership with civil engineer Suez, Egyptian contractor Orascom and Vinci Grands Projets.

Meridiam said the project would increase the kingdom’s water supply by almost 60%, bringing an end to water rationing.

The signing finalises an agreement made in August. Under it, the consortium will design and build the plant, and run it for the next 30 years.

When finished in 2029, the project will supply more than 300 million cubic metres of drinking water to Amman and Aqaba, serving some 3 million people.

The water will be taken from the Red Sea and distributed by 445km of pipes as far as Amman.

The European Investment Bank, which has lent $200m towards the construction cost of the scheme, said Jordan had less than 100 cubic metres of fresh water per person per year. A country is considered to face water stress when it has less than 500 cubic metres.

Raed Abu al-Saud, Jordan’s water and irrigation minister, said the project would bring a “shift in Jordan’s water security landscape”.

The project follows Jordan’s decision to pull out from a 2013 plan that would have linked the Dead Sea and the Red Sea by pipes.

In 2013, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians signed a memorandum of understanding on that project, which included plans to build a desalination plant at the Red Sea.