Mulki visits Tafileh, briefed on local community needs

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Thursday paid a field visit to Tafileh Governorate, accompanied by a ministerial team, and met with representatives of various sectors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the visit, Mulki laid the cornerstone of the Tafileh Industrial Estate project and checked on preparations to establish a new hospital in the governorate, Petra reported. 

At a meeting attended by Tafileh officials and local leaders at the Tafileh Technical University, the premier stressed that field visits to governorates are the start of the move towards local administration, in line with the government’s decentralisation plans.  

Mulki said the Tafileh Industrial Estate project cannot achieve its goals without capable human resources, which he said requires a training programme to be held at the estate. 

Meanwhile, a tender will be floated next week to build the new hospital in Tafileh, the premier noted, adding that Tafileh medicine graduates would be awarded scholarships to specialise abroad under an agreement between the health and higher education ministries.

Highlighting the Cabinet's decision on Wednesday regarding the employment of Jordanians in construction projects, Mulki said a good percentage of Jordanian engineers, technicians and workers would be employed in building projects. 

He added that a side contract should be issued to governorates where construction projects are under way.

The government and the Civil Service Bureau cannot shoulder the burdens of the labour market and job creation alone, Mulki said, highlighting the measures taken by the government to organise the job market, which include halting the recruitment of guest workers in favour of Jordanians. 

Responding to a question on wind energy, the premier noted that a training centre would be established in cooperation with the Jordan Wind Project Company focusing on maintenance of equipment for wind energy projects. 

A complex of government departments will also be established in the governorate following discussions about where the building should be located.  

The Tafileh Industrial Estate project extends over a 1,000-dunum site, and is seen as a key project to address poverty and unemployment, Petra reported. 

Public Works Minister Sami Halaseh briefed Mulki on progress in the first phase of the industrial estate, one of four to be established under a Saudi grant. 

The other estates will be located in Jerash, Madaba and Balqa, Halaseh said. 

The minister added that more than $9 million is being spent in the first phase of the Tafileh estate project, and that the local community will be involved in its construction. 

A contractor from Tafileh is working on the project with a contractor from the capital, as well as many engineers and workers from Tafileh, he noted. 

At the site for the hospital, Mulki was briefed on the engineering design blueprints for the building, which will house 100 beds with the potential for 150. 

Extending over 28,000 square metres, the hospital will offer all medical specialities and wards.  

The prime minister also checked on progress at a model school project in Tafileh, 180km southwest of Amman, called "Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah School" after the Kuwait emir who provided a grant to build it. 

The primary school will have two separate buildings for males and females, with a capacity to teach 600 boys and 900 girls. 

Some 10,000 square metres have been allocated to the school, which is being built at a cost of JD3 million. It is expected to be completed by March. 

Meanwhile, Tafileh Governor Mufid Ananbeh said the governorate suffers from high levels of poverty and unemployment, noting that local residents hope the field visits will lead to projects to help them improve their situations.

The governorate has a population of 96,291 according to the 2015 census.

Participants at the meeting conveyed their demands to the premier, which included urgent maintenance to the Desert Road, speedy construction of the new hospital and the exploitation of the copper, gold and manganese ores in the Dana Reserve for local benefit. 

They also urged support for the Tafileh Technical University and put forward other requests related to education and healthcare services.