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AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday paid an unannounced visit to the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation (JSMO) and checked on work progress. The visit is part of a series of unannounced visits Ensour pays to ministries and public institutions to check on their level of services, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier — accompanied by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali — highlighted the importance of checking on product quality and conformity to technical standards. JSMO Director General Haydar Zaben briefed Ensour on the mechanism of monitoring local and imported goods, Petra added. The premier praised the advanced technologies and modern equipment JSMO uses in its work through qualified personnel.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called on the relatives of Thabit Mohammad Musa Hamdan to check with the consulate affairs administration or the operations centre at the ministry on an urgent matter, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

AMMAN — Jordan will continue working towards regional and international peace and stability and will stay at the forefront of efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Thursday.

Delivering the opening address at the ministerial conference of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona, Judeh said the war against terrorism is World War III by other means, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister, who jointly chaired the event with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, reviewed the burden Jordan shoulders in hosting Syrians. On the sidelines of the conference, he held bilateral meetings with Mogherini and participating foreign ministers, and discussed bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region.

AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali has discussed means to increase the volume of trade between Jordan and Sri Lanka at a meeting with the country’s ambassador to Jordan, Abdul Latiff Mohamed Lafeer, the embassy said on Thursday. Referring to tea as the major commodity that Jordan imports from Sri Lanka, the ambassador suggested that Jordan import it in bulk and package it locally for re-export, the embassy statement said.

They also discussed other potential sectors for trade exchange such as rubber products, gems and jewellery, ceramics, spices and herbs, the statement said. Jordan exports fertilisers to many parts of Asia together with potash and phosphate. Ali said Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector stands to benefit from importing fertilisers from Jordan as well as setting up a fertiliser plant in Sri Lanka in the long run.

AMMAN — One man died and three people were injured in a two-vehicle collision at Al Ardah in Deir Alla on Thursday, according to the Civil Defence Department (CDD) media office.

Also on Thursday, five people were injured in a two-vehicle collision in Qadiseyeh area, according to a CDD statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Tafileh CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Prince Zeid Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

In another accident, three people were injured when their vehicle overturned in Ajloun. Moreover, a child was hit by a vehicle in Jerash. CDD cadres administered first aid and took him to Jerash Public Hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

AMMAN — Health Minister Ali Hiasat has said that Jordan achieved a “significant leap” in diagnosing diseases and treating them through safe surgery, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

Hiasat delivered his remarks at the 43rd annual scientific conference for the Jordan Surgical Society and the third scientific day for surgeons at the Health Ministry. He said the ministry has established an organ transplant centre at Al Bashir Hospital, staffing it qualified cadres and the latest technology in the field.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 68 Syrian refugees during the past 24 hours and sent them to shelters and camps, an army source said Thursday. Royal Medical Services cadres treated the ill and injured, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday condemned the terror attack that targeted a bus carrying Tunisian presidential guards in Tunis on Tuesday. 

In a telephone call with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the King expressed Jordan's support for Tunisia and extended his condolences.

Earlier on Wednesday, His Majesty sent a cable to Essebsi, in which he expressed his condolences over the loss of life during the terrorist attack, a Royal Court statement said. 

In the cable, His Majesty expressed his utter condemnation of such "cowardly" acts and voiced Jordan's solidarity with Tunisia, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. 

At least 12 were killed in the suicide attack claimed by Daesh militants, Reuters reported.

AQABA — The Red Sea resort city of Aqaba will witness a revival of its tourism sector, with 91 Russian charter flights scheduled to land in the port city over the next four months and plans under way to make its airport more competitive.

Munir Asad, general manager of Aqaba Airports Company and director of King Hussein International Airport (KHIA), on Tuesday said that the Russian flights — two of which have already landed — will transport more than 200 passengers each from now until the middle of March 2016. 

He explained that these flights have already confirmed their arrivals and departures, so the total number of incoming visitors is expected to reach 18,000.

To increase Aqaba’s accessibility for all travellers, the airport management has also reached a “preliminary” agreement with a Hungarian low-cost carrier to operate regular flights to KHIA.

The agreement is expected to enter into force in February next year, with two flights scheduled per week, according to Asad.

The KHIA director explained that despite the strategic location of Aqaba, it has many competitors in the quest to attract tourists, so its challenge is to make “our competitors irrelevant”.

Providing the right capacity and level of service, in addition to offering economical landing fees and charges, is critical to increasing the airport’s competitive edge, he said.

Asad noted that KHIA is already on the right track towards becoming a competitive destination.

“To establish the right competitive edge, airlines are offered a 50 per cent discount on fees and charges,” he said, explaining that this is part of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission’s by-laws.

Royal Jordanian also offers a discount in ground handling, according to Asad.

The airport also excels in its quick turnaround time for aircraft — only 45 minutes — from arrival to departure, he noted, adding that “this is a record and enables us to attract low-cost carriers.”

Asad said work is under way to increase the airport’s capacity, which is crucial for competitiveness.

The Aqaba Airports Company has also improved its level of service through the establishment of a facilitation programme as part of a two-phase development plan, according to the airport director. 

The first phase, costing JD25 million, will be completed in five to six months and includes rehabilitation of the runway and expansion of the arrivals building, both now complete, as well as expansion of the departure facility, which is under construction.

Asad said the second JD35 million phase, to be completed in 2028, will include restructuring the airport facilities, tower building and headquarters.

He told the press that the volume of investment at the airport exceeds JD100 million.

These include Al Baddad aircraft maintenance base and Ayla Aviation Academy.

Despite the impact of regional unrest on tourism, KHIA remains competitive and “the only open-sky airport in the region”, he stressed.

The airport received 96,000 passengers in the first 10 months of this year, 154,000 in 2014, and 160,000 in 2013.

Turkish Airlines is one of the operators flying regularly to KHIA, with four flights per week over the past two years.

The airline, which connects Aqaba to more than 270 destinations, transported 24,257 passengers to the port city in the first 10 months of this year, according to Asad.

AMMAN — The association representing homebuilders accuses the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) of pulling more middle-income residents into a looming affordable housing crisis in the capital, a charge disputed by city planners. 

In an interview with The Jordan Times this week, Jordan Housing Developers Association (JHDA) President Fawaz Al Hassan charged that bureaucracy and investor-unfriendly measures by GAM are pushing investors away from developing more housing projects to meet rising domestic demand, which he said would lead to an expected shortfall of homes for middle-income residents. 

According to Hassan, tens of Jordanian companies have exited the local market and headed to regional countries with more incentive-oriented policies such as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey. 

The developer cited GAM’s refusal to issue permits for small apartments and delays in administrative procedures to approve projects.

Housing projects must undergo over a dozen different official procedures in Jordan, a matter that delays the construction of buildings and increases investors’ costs, he said. 

Hassan claimed that developers sometimes wait for over five months to obtain construction licences and occupancy permits issued by GAM. 

The annual need for residential apartments in the Kingdom is around 45,000 units, while around 30,000 apartments are built every year, he said, adding that developers may not be able to meet the growing demand, which would increase prices.

“Investors are not buying land to build new residential apartments, and some developers have sold the land they bought,” Hassan said, indicating that the 10 per cent drop in land purchases in the first three quarters of this year, revealed by the Department of Land and Survey (DLS), was due to reluctance of housing investors to buy properties for new projects. 

He also accused GAM regulators of restricting developers to building a specific number of floors and apartments in west Amman neighbourhoods such as Abdoun, which would result in expensive residential units. 

“It is as if GAM wants aristocratic families only to live in these areas,” the developer charged. 

According to the JHDA president, the value of land constitutes 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the price of an apartment. 

But Imad Hiyari, deputy city director for planning affairs at GAM, said the municipality’s approval of new projects takes a maximum of 14 days when all documents and architectural designs meet the standards, noting that there are housing projects which take months to be approved due to developers’ failure to meet the requirements. 

Muhanna Qatan, head of GAM’s buildings department, pointed out that its procedures represent only 10 per cent of the requirements to have a residential building ready for sale. 

Developers have to go through procedures at other government agencies such as the DLS, power companies and water companies, Qattan said. 

Hiyari also told The Jordan Times that certain areas in west Amman are classified as “special housing zones” limited to villas and semi-villas only. 

For example, a building in Abdoun cannot be higher than two storeys and include more than four apartments, the GAM official explained, noting that residents of such areas can object to high-rise buildings with many flats.

“According to the law, residents can sue the municipality.” 

However, there are areas in west Amman, such as near Zahran Street, where developers can build five-storey residential buildings, he added. 

“It is not true that we want middle-income people to live only in certain areas,” Hiyari said, stressing that GAM will not allow “some investors seeking high profit margins” to sabotage the planning of the city. 

The new building codes by-law, which would allow for buildings with more than five storeys, is not ready yet as GAM is still receiving suggestions from stakeholders including the JHDA, the official said.   

Nearly 30,000 apartments are sold every year across the Kingdom, while some individuals build their own homes, according to Hiyari.

Investing in other countries

Hassan said Jordanians’ real estate investments outside the Kingdom are estimated at more than $5 billion. 

Several developers have left the domestic market and opened businesses in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Turkey, attracted by incentives, according to the developer, who said 747 Jordanian companies invested in Dubai’s real estate market at a value of $550 million between May and October. 

“The association [JHDA] is fighting to convince many companies to remain in the Kingdom,” Hassan said, adding that Turkey has recently become a preferred destination for local developers. 

Hassan said the JHDA plans to hold a sit-in next week to protest what he described as GAM’s “investment-discouraging” practices. 

But Hiyari urged the association to offer proposals that “serve the interests of Amman”, noting that a meeting is scheduled between GAM officials and the JHDA board to discuss the industry’s issues. 

Incentives 

Hassan urged decision makers to extend and widen incentives given to homebuyers to help boost the performance of the sector, which he described as an important supplier of revenue to the Treasury and a key contributor to economic activity. 

In July, the government exempted would-be home owners from registration fees for the first 150 square metres (sq.m.) of apartments sized 180sq.m. or less. The exemption expires at the end of this year. 

Hassan said the government should keep the incentives permanently and extend the exemptions to the first 150sq.m. of apartments sized up to 200sq.m.

All Jordanians should benefit from the incentives and future buyers should not be deprived of such a privilege, he added.