‘Gov’t to pay dues to medium-sized contractors Monday’

AMMAN –– The government is expected to pay part of its accumulated dues to medium-sized contractors on Monday, an official said Sunday. 

The Ministry of Finance is expected to transfer around JD14 million to the contractors on Monday, the government official told The Jordan Times, adding that the government owes this segment of construction companies around JD18 million. 

Ziad Sakran, board member of the Jordan Construction Contractors Association, confirmed that the Finance Ministry has pledged to transfer the funds on Monday. 

Medium-sized contractors, he said, have been calling on authorities since March to pay their financial obligations to developers.     

Sakran said many small- and medium-sized construction companies have been unable to pay their obligations to banks and the salaries of their employees because of the government’s delay in paying its dues. 

He estimated the amount of unpaid government dues at around JD18 million, explaining that the contractors implemented agricultural roads, mainly in the northern region of the Kingdom. 

Sakran added that most of the JD18 million is owed by the Ministry Public Works and Housing. 

The sector representative warned that if the government does not transfer the funds Monday, contractors plan to stage a sit-in outside the headquarters of the Public Works Ministry and the Finance Ministry. 

He said the government had promised to pay its dues to contractors some two months ago from financial allocations for capital projects funded by the Gulf Cooperation Council’s $5 billion grant.