AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday was
briefed on plans for establishing the new city, to be located nearly 40km from
Amman’s center and 31km from Zarqa city, in line with economic and
administrative modernization efforts, a Royal Court statement said.
اضافة اعلان
The meeting, held at Al-Husseiniya
Palace and attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, brought together Prime
Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh and a number of officials, as well as the team
involved in the new city project.
King Abdullah directed the government to
form an advisory committee of specialists and experts in various sectors to
benefit from their views on city planning, to ensure the new city will be an
architectural and urban model, and to meet the sustainability needs for
resources, energy, water, and the environment.
His Majesty called for moving forward
with the implementation of the new city within clearly identified timeframes,
in order for the project to become a key economic driver, while providing an
investment-friendly environment to create job opportunities, highlighting the
importance of providing the public with clear and transparent information on
the project.
The King also stressed the need for the
new city to accommodate current and future population growth in Jordan, improve
quality of life, and ease pressure on facilities in Amman and Zarqa, in
addition to being a model of effective public-private partnership.
The city will be established on and
surrounded by state-owned lands, which would facilitate decision-making
regarding various phases of the project.
Prime Minister Khasawneh elaborated on
the government’s measures to complete this national megaproject, noting that
studies and plans will be completed in two years, with the necessary funds
allocated by the government, expecting implementation to start in 2025 with the
infrastructure, as a total of JD442 million will be allocated for the
infrastructure from the state budget, at an average of JD50 million annually.
He added that a ministerial committee
was formed to supervise progress, noting that a government-owned company will
later handle the management and follow-up on implementation of all phases of
the project.
The prime minister noted that the
ownership of new city lands will be transferred to this government-owned
company, adding that the government will endorse regulations on urban planning
of the city.
He said the city will be based on
public-private partnership, and several buildings and facilities will be
constructed on a build-operate-transfer basis.
For his part, Tharwat Masalha — resident
manager of Dar Al-Handasah, the firm tasked with preparing the studies and
masterplan of the new city — highlighted the sustainable approach in planning
the city, by ensuring sustainability of water and energy resources, and using
modern transportation systems, in order for the city to be eco-friendly and
attractive to residents.
He expected the first phase of the
project, which includes preparing the masterplan, to be finalized by early
2025, and for the second phase of building the infrastructure to start in the
same year.
Masalha said the city’s nucleus will
include building a governmental complex that would house some public
institutions, surrounded by residential areas, and other entertainment and
commercial facilities, expected to be finalized in 2030.
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