Ensour tours development projects in Ajloun

AJLOUN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Monday checked on a number of development and service projects in Ajloun Governorate, some 70km northwest of Amman.

The premier, accompanied by a number of ministers, toured the Princess Haya Military Hospital, established under a Royal makruma to serve members of the army and security apparatuses, and their families in the Ajloun and Jerash governorates.

Ensour listened to a briefing by Royal Medical Services Director Maj. Gen. Khalaf Sarhan on the services that will provided by the facility.

The nine-storey hospital, slated to open in August, has a 150-bed capacity, but its infrastructure can be expanded to accommodate 300 beds, according to Sarhan.

Also during the visit, Ensour inaugurated the justice palace in Ajloun, which was established as part of the government’s efforts to build a number of model courts across Jordan in order to streamline litigation procedures.

The project was implemented by the Housing and Public Works Ministry at a cost of JD7.6 million.

Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni highlighted the aspects of the ministry’s 2014-2016 strategy, which mainly aims at training judicial staff, noting it also entails relocating courts whose buildings cannot accommodate the increasing number of citizens.

The prime minister also checked on the Great Ajloun Mosque expansion project and was briefed on obstacles that hindered its completion on schedule.

Ensour underlined the significance of the Umayyad mosque, which was built in 1246 by the last Ayyubid sultan, Najmuddin Ayyub, as a tourist attraction.

Awqaf Minister Hayel Dawood said around 89 per cent of the project was completed, expecting the expansion to cost around JD2.87 millionand conclude by mid-May.

The premier concluded his tour with a visit to the Kufranjeh Dam, which has the capacity to store around 6.7 million cubic metres of water.

Saed Abu Hammour, secretary general of the Jordan Valley Water Authority, stressed the importance of the JD26 million dam, expected to be completed by 2015, in improving the supply of irrigation water in the Jordan Valley area.