Aqaba Port Future Vision Conference kicks off

AMMAN — Minister of State for Follow-up and Government Coordination Nawaf Al Tal, deputising for Prime Minister Bisher  Khasawneh, on Wednesday inaugurated the Aqaba Port Future Vision Conference.

The one-day event, held in Amman and attended by ministers, economists and investors from several countries, came after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Aqaba Development Company (ADC) and APM Terminals that intends to transform Aqaba into a regional logistics centre, with a direct investment volume of up to $242 million.

Tal expressed his satisfaction regarding signing the MoU, affirming the government's support for public-private sector partnership and various global investments in the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Minister of Investment Khairy Amr said that the government has made a number of modifications in legislative, regulatory and institutional fields that lead to enhancing investment-related procedures in the Kingdom.

The vision aims to secure 1 million new jobs for Jordanians in the next decade, which will require JD41 billion of investment and financing, according to Amr.

Labour Minister Nayef Estetieh said that the ports sector needs 200 local job opportunities and 100,000 skilled workers over the next three years.

CEO of APM Terminals Keith Svendsen said that it is time to modernise the Aqaba port, switch to alternative energy for its operations and upgrade Jordanians' port management capabilities.

CEO of ADC Hussein Safadi said this conference complements the signing of the memo which seeks to make Aqaba a regional logistic hub with investment volume of $242 million.

He stressed the company's keenness to empower investments according to global best practices. This includes renewable energy projects and carbon emissions reduction, in a manner that advances the Aqaba container terminal’s status as a “regional pioneering port”, and contributes to supporting transport and supply chain logistics.

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) CEO Soren Jensen said that this meeting aims to announce plans to modernise the port of Aqaba, and shift to electric power.

Head of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Nayef Bakhit said that one of the most important aspects of the Aqaba strategy is to transform it into a logistics centre for transit transport to support the national economy.

He added that the partnership between the ADC and APM is “a model of public-private partnership and a great service to the national economy”.