Fuheis councillors resign over Lafarge’s planned urban development project

AMMAN — Members of Fuheis municipal council resigned on Thursday, claiming that they are being pressured into approving Lafarge’s planned urban development project on the site of the Fuheis cement factory.

The six members submitted their resignations to Fuheis Mayor Hweishel Akroush, saying in the resignation letter that they are being pressured, individually and collectively, to approve Lafarge’s planned project.

The resigning members said their “repeated, clear demands, which are fundamental in order to make the right decision regarding the planned project, went unheeded”.

Rania Sweiss, one of those who resigned, said on Thursday that they had repeatedly demanded studies evaluating the project’s environmental impact on the geology of the area and issues of traffic, among others, to be carried out before issuing a decision on the project.

“Since the planned project was proposed and up until now, no studies were put forward to help us make a decision,” Sweiss told The Jordan Times over the phone.

She said that the council members “wanted to know how it would impact our area before we said yes or no”. 

Sweiss stressed that Lafarge and others, whom she declined to name, are pressuring them into approving the project in the absence of the required studies.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs on Thursday said that it has not been involved in the Fuheis municipal council members’ resignations.

“So far this is all an internal matter for Fuheis Municipality,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Abbas Hmeisat, told The Jordan Times.

Lafarge Jordan said recently that its plan to turn its cement production plant into an “environment-friendly urban” hub is still awaiting approval.

Calls from The Jordan Times to Lafarge on Thursday seeking comment on the issue went unanswered.

The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fuheis Municipality, but is still awaiting the municipal council’s approval of its plan to turn its 1,880 dunum-site into an urban hub, according to Lafarge Jordan CEO Amr Reda.

The executive has previously said that if there is no approval, the company hopes to “reoperate the factory using renewable energy solutions”.

The planned project would serve Fuheis residents and develop the area’s main factory, the company said recently, indicating that 94 per cent of the land is owned by Lafarge and investors.

The project would see green spaces and public areas for residents,  as well as shopping malls, commercial and residential properties, medical facilities, restaurants and a university.

Several residents of Fuheis, 23km northwest of Amman, have rejected the planned project, describing it as “vague”. They demanded that any plan should take into account geographic and agricultural factors, in order to ensure the safety of the area.

The Fuheis Popular Committee said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times recently that Lafarge has not provided residents with any future plans to resolve the environmental impact of the cement factory, which stopped operating in 2013 after years of complaints from residents.