Saudi Development Fund and the Jordanian government signed a funding grant agreement worth $30m on Sunday (31 May, 2015) to finance infrastructure projects for new industrial cities in Jordan.
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These industrial cities will be established in the Jordanian governorates of Tafila, Madaba, Jerash and Balqa. Jordan Industrial Estates Corporation (JIEC) intends to implement and finance these through the fund and the company’s self-revenue.
The establishment of the cities is part of the company’s future plan, and the company said in a statement that it aims to set up industrial cities in “a number of the Kingdom’s governorates”, in accordance with the developmental need of each governorate.
JIEC’s chief executive Ali Madadha said the grant comes in the framework of joint cooperation between the governments of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as it is a part of the second phase of Saudi Development Fund’s grant agreement with Jordan.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, Madadha added, noting that the JIEC will begin implementing these projects during the last quarter of 2015.
According to Madadha, the agreement will provide employment opportunities for Jordanians in the construction sector during the implementation stages, thus reducing poverty and unemployment in the targeted governorates.