Gov’t, SJIF sign MoU to explore National Railway Network investments

AMMAN — The Jordanian government, represented by the Jordan Investment Fund, and the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund (SJIF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that seeks to enable SJIF to explore investing in the National Railway Network Project. 

The project entails establishing a 418-kilometre, standard-gauge railway track connecting the Aqaba Container Terminal with the Madouna dry port in southern Amman, for the shipment of containers, phosphate, grain, and automobiles, according to a SJIF statement.  

The National Railway Network Project is one of the priority projects included in the Jordan Investment Fund Law number (16) for 2016.

The MoU is the first step in a multi-pillar investment process to assess this investment opportunity, which includes consultations and discussions with local and international investors. 

The MoU was signed by Director of the Jordan Investment Fund Zaher Qatarneh, and CEO of the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund Omar Alwir.

Qatarneh expressed his appreciation for SJIF for its continuous interest in key infrastructure projects in the Kingdom, and for prioritising projects that are of key importance to the Jordanian government, stressing that the National Railway Project is a government priority due to its impact on the transport sector and sustainable development.

Alwir reaffirmed the company’s commitment to implement “value-added investments” in Jordan, with a particular emphasis on projects related to infrastructure, and stressed that the company will continue to cooperate with the Jordanian government and other key entities as well as the private sector to explore and evaluate various investment opportunities in key and promising sectors.

Alwir said the MoU is an important step to enable the company to assess the investment opportunity in the National Railway Project, which seeks to reduce the cost of transporting goods, in addition to contributing to economic growth in Jordan, as well as job creation.

The SJIF is a Jordanian Limited Public Shareholding Company formed in 2017 as a partnership between the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which owns around 92 per cent of the company, and 16 conventional and Islamic Jordanian banks, which own the remaining 8 per cent. 

The company was registered per Jordan Investment Fund Law number 16 for 2016, and its formation is an outcome of the Jordanian Saudi Cooperation Council and the MoU that was signed between the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the Jordan Investment Fund on August 25, 2016.

The company’s Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association were signed during the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to Jordan on March 27, 2017, in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah, at the Royal Hashemite Court in Amman.

SJIF’s investment strategy focuses on three pillars: Infrastructure projects based on the partnership between the public and the private sectors in various sectors, especially in the transport, energy, tourism, and water sectors; new projects in vital sectors, especially healthcare, education and tourism; in addition to expanding capital investments through supporting successful and promising Jordanian companies.