Business Club

Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla Hotel will be opening its doors next month, welcoming guests looking for a premium luxury experience. The opening of the hotel is a milestone in the first phase of the Ayla project — one of the largest mixed-use development projects in Jordan.

Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla is the first hotel constructed within the Ayla project and the second hotel in Jordan being managed by the international Hyatt group.

It has 286 rooms and suites, featuring a unique design. Guests of Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla will enjoy a variety of food and beverage outlets, swimming pools and a private beach club.

Moreover, the hotel provides world-class facilities for meetings, conferences and corporate events, all of which have raised the bar in Aqaba in terms of quality and services.

Other facilities include sports and fitness club, with training studios and equipment, and separate areas for men and women where Turkish baths, massages and physical therapy are offered.

Hantec Markets on Thursday announced the opening of its new offices in Amman. 

At a reception hosted by Britain’s ambassador to Jordan, Edward Oakden, the ambassador was joined by Hantec’s Chief Operations Officer Hayel Abu Hamdan and Hantec’s CFO Zaid Al Aqabani. Hantec’s new office in Amman will be authorised and regulated by the Jordan Securities Commission.

Jordan will be the 9th country that the company has expanded into and this move sees Hantec Markets become the only truly international broker with a physical presence in Jordan.

Ambassador Oakden added “The financial services sector is one of the most robust and mature in Jordan, remaining resilient in the face of significant external volatility and retaining its role as a driver of economic growth.” He also reminded guests that “No other country apart from The United Kingdom can offer such a concentration of capital, capability and international focus to meet your banking and finance needs”.

AMMAN— A high-ranking German delegation of forty-two stakeholders representing directors of institutions, scientists and researchers at German universities and research centers, members of the German parliament and German journalists visited Al-Balqa Applied University in Jordan.

The delegation was led by Professor Otmar Wiestler, president of the Helmholtz Association. The Helmholtz Association is a key science foundation in Germany, managing eighteen research centers specializing in energy, land, environment, health, aeronautics, space, transport, materials and other technologies.

The visit is a continuation of the efforts by the university and its president Professor Abdallah Al-Zoubi, to enhance scientific and academic cooperation with high-level institutions around the world, in an effort to re-discover the university's potential to create a competitive environment that promotes entrepreneurship towards excellence and creativity.

The visit was dedicated to the Wastewater Treatment Facility established at the university through the Smart Project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, and in cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation. The visit reflects the local and regional importance of this unique facility, being the only one of its kind in the Middle East that demonstrates, operates and manages decentralized waste water treatment technology. It offers educational and training programs and is an exclusive platform for researchers and postgraduate students. It is the cornerstone of the recently launched Technical Diploma in Water Treatment at Salt College of Technology at BAU.

The visit also comes as part of a delegation tour related to a high-level environmental award from the Federal Government of Germany.

On behalf of BAU president, Prof. Ghandi Anfoka, Acting President of BAU;Prof. Saed Dababneh, Dean of Scientific Research; and Dr. Omar Al-Dabbas, Dean of Salt Technical College welcomed the delegation. Professor Ghandi Anfoka briefed the delegation about the role of BAU in managing and sustaining this unique facility. On his turn, Professor Saed Dababneh, Dean of Scientific Research at BAU delivered a speech in which he stressed the importance of the facility in supporting scientific research and in providing a platform for researchers and graduate students.  Dean of the Salt Technical College, Dr. Omar Al-Dabbas, stressed on the importance and excellence of the facility in supporting technical education, especially in the newly developed technical diploma program in water treatment engineering. Prof. Wiestler stressed on the importance of the collaboration and expressed his support to pursuing future mutual efforts with Jordanian partners.

The delegation toured the existing technologies in the facility, where Dr. Naser Almanaseer, project and facility manager, briefly demonstrated the efforts put to design, build, operate and maintain multiple technologies, and how they are used in education and training programs. The delegation was briefed on the research and graduation projects carried out by university students. Prof. Wiestler praised the role played by the university in using the station to facilitate students’ projects, which enables them to innovate. Dr. Nasser Almanaseer presented a concept on the future of the facility and BAU vision towards transforming it into a regional platform for innovation and excellence in wastewater management.

The visit was concluded by thanking the delegation for the distinguished German support provided through the Helmholtz Association, which resulted in adopting pioneering projects for scientific research that tackle national and regional issues in important sectors such as the water sector.

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) was recently awarded the “2019 Four-Star Major Regional Airline” Award by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) during the APEX EXPO Awards Ceremony held lately in Boston, according to a statement by RJ.

It is the second year in a row the airline has received the honour, which is based off of customer feedback ratings using the TripIt app, the airline said.

RJ President Stefan Pichler said in the statement: “We are pleased to be honoured by one of the airline industry’s highly regarded rating programmes… The improvement in our ground, air and online services, along with our modern fleet of aircraft, wide international network and robust route connectivity are great contributors to this recognition, of which we are all proud.” 

AMMAN — The 15th Trans Middle East Exhibition and Conference taking place in Aqaba next month will be attended by international keynote speakers and business leaders who will share global best practices and new trends based on their experience and knowledge, according to a statement released by Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) recently.

According to the statement, speakers will include Yossi Sheffi, director for the Centre for Transport and Logistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wolfgang Lehmacher, head of supply chain and transport industry at the World Economic Forum.

Amr Abu Suleiman of Orange Jordan, and CEO of 1-Stop Connections Michael Bouari, as well as Nicolas Buhmann from TradeLens will also speak on blockchain and global trade.

“Developing sustainable transport and logistics infrastructure is a fantastic investment opportunity for the private sector to create, in partnership with the public sector, what will be the backbone of a competitive economy for Jordan,” said Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh.

AMMAN — Ayla recently celebrated the winning of three awards at the final ceremony of the Africa and Arabia Property Awards, which took place on Thursday in Dubai, according to a statement sent by the organisation. 

Ayla was awarded in the Leisure Development category for its Marina Village, and in the Residential Development and Residential Property categories for its Peninsula Villas.

Board Member and Creative Director Sirin Masri, and Director of Technical Services Hala Araj, were present to receive the awards said the statement.  The Africa and Arabia Property Awards are a subcomponent of the International Property Awards, which covers the Middle East, Africa, EU, UK, the Americas and Australia.  

Managing director of Ayla, Sahl Dudin, expressed the company’s pride in receiving the awards, highlighting the growing competition from companies worldwide.

Dudin also said in the statement that this was the second consecutive year the company’s projects had received awards, as Ayla took home eight awards during the 2017 Africa and Arabia Property Awards. 

Royal Jordanian (RJ) on Tuesday launched an all-new frequent flyer programme that offers loyal, frequent travellers a more rewarding, attractive and flexible package carrying the name of Royal Club.

Platinum Hawk, Gold Sparrow, Silver Jay and Bronze Sunbird are now the new names of Royal Club membership tiers, giving them a more Jordanian identity.

Royal Club offers members generous award miles earnings that can triple based on members’ purchase behaviour.

Award miles will not expire as long as a member’s account is active for 18 months, continuously. Top-tier members — Platinum Hawk and Gold Sparrow — are now entitled to exclusive privileges and benefits, in recognition of their continued support and loyalty to RJ throughout the years.

Through Royal Club, RJ also enhances the members’ online experience and services. Now, members can purchase, transfer, gift and donate miles online. 

AMMAN — The Land International Investment and Real Estate Development Company and the SFI Real Estate Company announced the signing of an agreement on Tuesday for a joint venture between the two in the marketing and selling of new residential units known as “Dabouq 170”.

The units will be located in a spot on the west side of Dabouq, and according to the statement sent by the organisations, a boutique hotel will be built alongside the project.

The project will begin construction at the start of spring of the next year. However, booking and sales will begin within a month, according to the statement. The project is considered a first phase for The Land Co. in Dabouq.

One of The Land’s holding companies in Jordan is currently building the “Bab Al Madina” market outside Amman, through Ard Al Kamar Real Estate Development Company which will be an added value to the 1.5 million citizens, said the statement.

The project will cost more than JD50 million and create more than 3,000 jobs directly and indirectly. According to the statement, The Land Co. is a part of The Land Holding, which has established several projects in the region including in Palestine, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Jordan.

Starting today and until October 8, Royal Jordanian (RJ) is offering a global sales promo to 40 destinations on its route network, under the theme: “Be Smart ...Book Now”. The prices, including taxes, range between JD49 to Aqaba and JD569 to New York, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal.

The fares to Beirut, Larnaca and Athens are down to JD179, to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait to JD199, to Iraq to JD239, to Tunis, Algiers and Khartoum to JD259, to Europe to JD369 and to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur to JD379.

Passengers coming from any RJ destination to Amman, or via Amman, are offered similar attractive ticket fares, which vary by destination, while this offer excludes RJ flights to Cairo, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Doha and Copenhagen.

The October campaign gives Royal Club the possibility to add a percentage of tier miles and flight segment to their accounts, part of the added benefits offered by the new Royal Club programme.

Passengers who book their tickets during this sales period can travel anytime between November 1, 2018, and May 20, 2019, except for Christmas and New Year time (between December 15, 2018 and January 10, 2019) and Easter (between April 15 and May 4, 2019), for a maximum stay of 30 days and a minimum stay of three days.

ROYAL JORDANIAN (RJ) has operated 448 extra and charter flights since the beginning of this summer, in addition to the airline’s scheduled flights. Between March and August this year, Royal Jordanian ran 239 extra flights and 209 charter flights.

Most of the extra flights operated on the Doha, Jeddah, Madinah Munawwara, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi routes, whereas the charter flights covered tourist attraction cities in the region, like Antalya, Bodrum, Sharm El Sheikh and Istanbul, in addition to Tel Aviv, from where RJ carried Hajj and Umrah passengers to Jeddah and Madinah, transiting through Amman.

A breakdown of the figures shows that in August, the airline operated 119 extra and 87 charter flights.

In remarks, RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler said that RJ runs extra and charter flights in response to the growing demand on travel during the summer, which coincides with the summer vacation and the Eid and Hajj seasons.

RJ annually wet-leases two to three aircraft for short periods of time to cater for the high demand for travel during the peak season, he added.