New Aqaba port to go operational in mid-2018

AMMAN — Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh on Monday announced that the new Aqaba port will begin its operations mid-2018, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The step will follow the old port site’s hand-over to an investment company that bought the location to build the Marsa Zayed, large-scale development project. 

At a meeting with Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management’s director general, Mohammad Mubaideen, and other executives, Shraideh stressed that the Marsa Zayed project, which will be implemented after old facilities are removed, will be a distinctive Gulf of Aqaba landmark, reflective of the city’s cultural and touristic image and a must-visit attraction for Jordanians and guests.

He announced that the implementation will start after the site’s official hand-over in September, noting that the relocation process has already begun to the new port on Aqaba’s southern shore. Handling operations at the new port will commence on the 1st of May, he added.

The ASEZA chief noted that emptying the old port’s silos and warehouses will take place before the end of April, adding that the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army is assisting in the demolition of old buildings. Operations will completely cease at the old port by early May.

Shraideh said that the new port was designed to meet international standards and specifications to contribute to the envisioned increase in trade exchange, and handling and compete with other Red Sea ports.