Work to begin on second stage of Amman’s BRT project — GAM

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) will start work installing new bus lanes in the capital in the coming days, an official announced on Saturday. 

The work marks the start of the second stage of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, the infrastructure executive director of the project, Ahmad Malkawi, said. 

The second stage will cost JD8.147 million, Malkawi said in a statement. 

A four-kilometre BRT route will be installed from the intersection of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Princess Basma streets in Abdoun, and through Princess Basma and Prince Ali streets all the way to Ali Bin Abi Taleb Street in Ras Al Ain, Malkawi said.

Measures will be taken to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, he said, adding that the work is expected to take around 14 months. 

The first phase of the BRT project aimed to add 32km of bus lanes in three sections. 

The first section starts at the Sweileh Circle and passes through University (Queen Rania) Street, the Sports City area, and Shahid and Istiqlal streets, ending at Mahatta area, the GAM official said.

This lane has been partially completed.

As for the second section, Malkawi said it will run from the Jordan Museum in Ras Al Ain neighbourhood and end at the Sports City, passing through Princess Basma Street and the 5th Circle.

The third part will extend between Mahatta area and the Customs Department in Muqabalein, passing through Yarmouk Street and the Middle East Circle, Malkawi added in the statement.

The multimillion-dinar project, which the GAM embarked on in 2009, entails operating premium, high-capacity buses that can carry more than 120 passengers and will run on a three-minute frequency during peak hours on segregated lanes along Amman’s busiest corridors. 

Work on the project stopped in the summer of 2011 amid concerns over its feasibility and funding, and the Cabinet subsequently suspended it and halted all related tenders. 

In 2013, the government decided to resume the project, as part of a plan that seeks to provide transport solutions and ease traffic congestion in the capital.