The work on the Jordan for the purpose of utilizing the water power of the river for the electrification and irrigation of Palestine will commence this year, according to a statement made by Lord Arnold, the Under-Secretary of the British Colonial Office, in the House of Lons today.
The concession to this enterprise is held by Engineer Phineas Rutenberg of the World Zionist Organization, and the sum of $1,000,000 necessary for the beginning of the work has already been raised, Lord Arnold states. The land and the necessary machinery for the enterprise have already been acquired. The sum of approximately $4,000,000 will be necessary before the work is completed.
One electric power station is already functioning successfully at Jaffa. The Jaffa Electric Company and the concession on the Jordan, Lord Arnold stated, are “the greatest attempts ever made to develop the natural resources of Palestine.”
The High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, has reported that the Jaffa Electric Company is working to the satisfaction of the consumers. Even the Arab municipality of Jaffa and private Arab citizens are using the electric power of the station.
Progress has also been made on the Jordan; the engineering plans have been submitted to the Colonial Office and have been approved by the Consulting Engineer. Some delay has been caused in the carrying on of the electrification work by the claim of the Greek engineer Namromatis, who says that he holds a similar concession from the Turkish Government, granted when Palestine was under the rule of Turkey.
The power house in Haifa, however, is expected to start its service next year. The orders for the necessary machinery have been placed in England, and some of the machinery has already arrived in Palestine. In Jerusalem, the plan will begin functioning shortly.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
