Work ongoing to solve overcrowding at King Hussein Bridge — Interior minister

AMMAN — Jordan is searching for a solution to the overcrowding at King Hussein Bridge, which has resulted from the lack of response from Israel to deal with the increasing number of passengers, Interior Minister Mazen Farayah said on Tuesday.

Farayah, during a field tour to the bridge, said that there will be “instant, mid- and long-term” solutions to solve most passengers’ problems, mainly those related to human and logistic aspects, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister said that the border crossing is witnessing an “unprecedented” overcrowding of passengers as a result of work and school interruptions for over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the return of expatriates and the summer holiday.

He noted that more than 10,000 passengers use the bridge on a daily basis, only 50 per cent of whom can cross it as a result of Israeli procedures, such as short working hours and a low number of employees.

As for instant solutions, Farayah said that there will be new methods for selling tickets at certain areas in Amman and other governorates, instead of selling tickets at the bridge and the tickets will be within the limit that the Israeli side can handle, in coordination with the concerned transport companies, which would organise passenger movement and avoid overcrowding.

The minister added that the ministry is planning to launch an e-platform within two weeks to enable passengers to receive tickets electronically without having to visit the points of sale.

He also met with officials at the bridge who recommended opening new roads and rehabilitating the old ones, in addition to allocating special routes for commercial trucks and others for passengers to avoid overcrowding and ensure the flexibility of movement.

Farayah noted that the Foreign Ministry is exerting all possible efforts with stakeholders to reach solutions that can facilitate the movement of passengers through the bridge, stressing that there is no international mediation between Jordan and Israel regarding procedures at the border crossing.

He also said that there is no available official information so far on Israel's possibility to increase working hours.

Also on Tuesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that coordination is ongoing with Jordan to make Israel open the border crossing round the clock to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian passengers on both sides, Petra added.

Shtayyeh also called for allocating a special lane for the movement of arrivals and departures on the border crossing and separate their movement from the movement of commercial trucks to facilitate the movement of passengers until the Damiah Bridge is reopened.