Jordan: Korean consortium to build Jordan's first nuclear reactor

LNG shipments from Qatar will help develop transport infrastructure

2015/12/27 The arrival of the initial liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from Qatar at Aqaba Port in May 2015 signalled a major step forward for Jordan’s energy sector, while as well putting the country’s plans for developing transport infrastructure firmly in the spotlight. The heightened activity at Aqaba has underscored the need to boost connectivity between the country’s only port and the north, and reduce the strain on its roads. DRIVING THE DISTANCE: Aqaba Port was responsible for around 55% of Jordan’s entire export trade in 2013, while handling some 73% of total imports during the year, according to the Department of Statistics. The area is as well home to the Aqaba Appropriate Economic Zone, an industrial site inclunding airport and maritime facilities, factories, workshops and businesses. However, given the instability in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, pressure is likely to increase at Aqaba, with overland trade largely paralysed by border attacks from insurgents. In April 2015, Jordan closed its only working border crossing with Syria at Jaber. This has forced Jordanian traders with commitments in Syria or Iraq to rely on sea routes via Haifa in Israel or through the Suez Canal to Aqaba.

Jordan is home to additional than 20 non-metallic minerals and four major metallic deposits

2015/12/27 As the seventh-major producer of potash in the world, Jordan is producing around 2m tonnes per annum of this vital fertiliser ingredient. The country is as well home to one of the world’s major phosphate rock sectors, making minerals extraction one of the country’s top industrial sectors and a major support for the Jordanian economy. World competition has increased in the completed decade, with the kingdom’s potash and phosphate miners obliged to find new ways to boost efficiency and gain new markets. The sector is as well getting sharper at utilising its existing resources and leveraging Jordan’s strong positioning in world supply chains. LONG PEDIGREE: Jordan is home to additional than 20 non-metallic minerals and four major metallic deposits within its 89,566-sq-km territory. Copper and iron mining has been conducted in the area presently known as Jordan since the Bronze Age, although recent mining activity began in earnest in 1949, with the establishment of the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC). The major mineral extraction industries in the kingdom have since been dominated by phosphates and potash, but as well include salt, calcium carbonate, treated zeolite, treated silica and travertine.

Germany grants Jordan $33M soft loan for water resources management

2015/09/20 The government and the German Development Bank (KfW) on Saturday signed a soft loan agreement worth 30 million euros to finance the second segment of the Water Resources Management Programme in its third phase. The agreement was signed by Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and KfW Director in Amman Florian Rabe in the presence of German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle, according to a ministry statement. The loan will be allocated to finance several projects aimed at improving water carriers, sewage networks and the reuse of the water provision system in the Kingdom, Fakhoury said.

Jordan’s exporters hope for imminent Iraqi border opening

2015/08/30 Jordanian industrialists expect a decision to be taken by Iraqi authorities this week to open the border crossing with the Kingdom, Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) President Ayman Hatahet said Saturday. The Turaibil/Karameh crossing has been closed since mid-July under a decision by the Iraqi authorities until further notice due to security reasons and ongoing fighting with extremists in the Anbar province. "Internal measures by the Iraqi government to open the border are expected this week," Hatahet told The Jordan Times over the phone.