Gov’t spending JD244m on development in Aqaba in 2016

AMMAN — The government is spending JD244 million on development programmes in Aqaba this year, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said during a visit to the governorate on Thursday.

Government spending is higher in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, than in other governorates, as projects like the Aqaba port serve the whole Kingdom, Fakhoury noted. 

Accompanied by a government team, the minister briefed the local community and official representatives on the government’s measures to implement the Aqaba development programme 2016, a ministry statement said.

Some JD120 million has been spent on capital governmental projects and JD114 million on projects of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), the Aqaba Development Company and the Aqaba Water Company, said Fakhoury.

Projects in Aqaba, which has a population of 188,160, include the establishment of a productive branch in Wadi Araba in cooperation with the Labour Ministry, worth JD173,000, and the provision of JD500,000 to be distributed as loans to unemployed graduates, in cooperation with the Development and Employment Fund (DEF), according to the minister.

He added that the government had increased financial allocations to national credit corporations for 2016-2018 to help create job opportunities.

The ministry has coordinated with donors on the priorities in each governorate, Fakhoury said.

As for priority infrastructure projects, the ministry has worked with various government institutions including the General Budget Department to allocate JD5.5 million to development priorities in Aqaba, which was not listed in the ministries’ budgets for 2016.

Financing for the Syrian refugee crisis has been directed in line with the Jordan Response Plan, including JD1.8 million earmarked for the education and health sectors in 2015-2016, Fakhoury said.

In response to demands from residents of Aqaba, the government recently approved a project to build a new hospital in the governorate, the minister noted.

The hospital will be affiliated with the Health Ministry through partnership with the private sector, he said, adding that the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development would fund construction of the Wadi Araba Hospital through a JD25 million soft loan.

Also during the meeting, Hatem Habahmeh, the ministry’s governorate development department director, delivered a briefing on the progress of the Aqaba development programme, and the government team listened to residents’ demands, the ministry said.