Engineers association warns against borrowing to build new city

Gov’t provides further details of new city plans

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AMMAN — Head of Engineering Offices and Companies at the Jordan Engineers Association Abdullah Ghosheh warned against borrowing to fund the construction of the new city planned by the government, especially given the Kingdom’s high public debt.اضافة اعلان

After Egypt relied on loans to establish a new administrative city, the Egyptian pound collapsed, Ghosheh told Khaberni on Wednesday, stressing the importance of benefiting from past experiences as well, citing the example of an integrated residential city project in Zarqa. Jordan should also consult with international real estate companies in neighboring cities, he said.

The government should not skip to discussing the details of the city before completing economic, environmental, and social studies, and providing plans to link the city to a viable transportation system, Ghosheh said.

The project should not be adopted only by the current government, Ghosheh stressed, but rather by the state as a whole, with adoption by all future governments. This would come out of the need for a modern city that meets requirements of a growing population, and improves standards of living for Jordanians.
Citizens must feel that this project is part of the Kingdom’s economic and social progress — it should not be perceived as an additional financial burden.
Several reservations about choosing a location for the new city have been put forth, the most important of which refer to environmental aspects and methods of financing, and the expert stressed the need to conduct technical and scientific studies to put such reservations to rest and manage the project through public-private partnerships.

Citizens must feel that this project is part of the Kingdom’s economic and social progress — it should not be perceived as an additional financial burden, he said.

Location and populationIn a statement issued on Wednesday, the Prime Ministry said that the new city will located along two international roads: Al-Muwaqqar/Al-Azraq and Al-Zarqa/Al-Azraq highways. It will be near to the industrial zones in Al-Muwaqqar, Sahab, and Al-Zarqa, and will be a key gateway to border crossings with Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Kaberni reported.

After the completion of the first phase in 2033, the city's population is expected to reach about 157,000, with future expansion bringing it to one million by 2050.

The city's location will be 40km from the center of Amman, 33km from Queen Alia International Airport, and 26km from the city of Zarqa.

The new city will benefit from a new railway network, a new land port in Madouna, and public transport projects linked to the Amman Development Corridor.

Funding and job opportunitiesMeanwhile, Minister of Government Communication and Government Spokesman Faisal Shboul said that investments in the new city will be conducted through partnerships with the local private sector, in addition to foreign investments. The government will not borrow from domestic or international sources to implement this national project, he said.
After the completion of the first phase in 2033, the city's population is expected to reach about 157,000, with future expansion bringing it to one million by 2050.After the completion of the first phase in 2033, the city's population is expected to reach about 157,000, with future expansion bringing it to one million by 2050.
The planned area for the first phase of the city is about 25 square kilometers, while the total area of the city is expected to reach 270 square kilometers following development. The city will be built on state-owned land that is also surrounded by state-owned land, he said. This will facilitate both procedures and decision-making in various stages of the project, especially in regard to planning and organization.

Shboul estimated that the city will provide about 83,000 permanent jobs by the end of the first phase in 2033, and about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout the implementation stages.


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