Jordan, Saudi fund sign grant agreement for new traffic intersections

AMMAN — The government and the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) on Wednesday signed a grant agreement to implement traffic intersections in Amman, with a total cost of $60 million, as part of the Saudi share in the Gulf grant.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and SDF deputy chairman, Yousef Bin Ibrahim Al Bassam, signed the agreement on behalf of the government and SDF respectively, in the presence of Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The projects include constructing bridges with a total length of 1,370 metres and 220-metre tunnels on three main intersections in the capital: the central fruit and vegetable market intersection, Hurria and Quds streets intersection and Marj Al Hamam intersection with the Amman-Dead Sea Road.

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Mulki met with Bassam and expressed Jordan’s appreciation to the continuous support of Saudi Arabia. 

The prime minister stressed that the support of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries has contributed to enhancing Jordan’s resilience and capability to face challenges, which have been exacerbated by hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees.

He also highlighted the importance of implementing the intersections’ projects in Amman in order to help reduce traffic jams in the capital and help citizens save time and effort.

For his part, Bassam commended the level of cooperation between the fund and the Jordanian government, stressing that this cooperation, which dates back to 40 years, has been “excellent” in terms of development and implementing schemes.

In press remarks following the signing ceremony, Fakhoury expressed appreciation of Saudi Arabia’s support to the Kingdom, Petra added.

The minister noted that the fund’s assistance to Jordan since 1975 totalled $488.1 million, the most recent of which is SDF’s contribution to the revamping of the Desert Road, where the $105-million agreement was signed in March on the sidelines of King Salman’s visit to Jordan.  

Bassam told the press that the $60 million is the remaining part of Saudi Arabia’s share of $1.25 billion in the Gulf grant.

In 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council allocated $5 billion to finance development projects in Jordan between 2012 and 2016. The grant is divided between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with each country providing $1.25 billion.