City to relocate used-car auction lots, dealer shops

AMMAN – The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) will relocate vehicle dealers and used-car auction lots to a plot of land in the Madouna area in east Amman soon, a GAM official said on Tuesday. 

Emad Hiyari, the city’s vice director for planning affairs, said the municipality proposed this idea to the government, which supported the proposal and decided to provide the municipality with a 900-dunum space for the project. 

The municipality had planned in 2013 to start a similar project in the Marka area in east Amman, but since then no move has been implemented under the plan. 

Hiyari noted that the previous piece of land was small and could not accommodate the number of vehicles to be put on display for clients. 

“The old land was a 300-dunum area. It was not suitable might have affected the traffic, while the new land is large enough to accommodate these cars. The new venue is preferable because it is located near well-served areas,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

Hiyari said that no specific time frame has yet been defined for the project. 

“The Ministry of Public Works and Housing is in charge of zoning the land for the purpose of this project, and the construction might start between 2016 and 2017,” he added. 

The municipality official said the project would benefit clients and the public. 

“Customers can find all kinds of cars at one place. Also, this project will end the problem of traffic jams caused by auction  lots and car dealers in Amman,” he added. 

Hiyari noted that under the regulations, vendors are given time to switch to another location if alternatives are available.

“No one can prohibit people from running car showrooms in Amman, but they are not allowed to showcase the vehicles on the pavements, which many vendors do. The growing number of stores and clients has resulted in traffic jams in Amman, so the idea behind the whole project is to organise this industry and to beautify the eastern part of the capital,” he added.  

However, the used-car lot, located on Jordan Street in the Tabarbour neighbourhood in northeast Amman, has served as an active centre for used-car trading since 1980 and is the main attraction for people looking to buy or sell vehicles.

A plan to relocate this market has been in the works for several years, but dealers have resisted the move.