PARIS, June 7 (KUNA) -- French environment and waste management company, Suez Environment, said Thursday that it had signed a major contract worth USD 190 million with Jordan to handle expansion of the Al-Samra waste treatment plant.

The contract will take three years to implement and the project has a 22-year operating life, Suez said in a statement.

The decision to expand the plant was taken in view of increasing population and demands on waste treatment systems in the Amman and Zarqa Governorates and the contract was awarded to Suez by the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

France has been seeking to bolster investments and commercial ties with Jordan for some time and is involved in several key sectors, including infrastructure and construction and cement.

Most of the work on Al-Samra will be carried out by Suez affiliate Degremont and its partners.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh last week made a first contact since Fabius took office in late May and they discussed regional issues and bilateral relations and agree to organise a joint economic commission meeting in the near future.