Jordan and the UAE on Wednesday signed agreements to initiate a $2.3-billion railway project that will connect Jordan's Port of Aqaba to its mining sites of Shidiyah and Ghor Al Safi.
The project – signed between Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Railway Network, and the Ministry of Transport – is part of a broader investment package totalling around $5.5 billion, which was signed in late 2023 in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said a Jordan Times report.
The agreement aims at building, developing, and operating a Jordanian railway network spanning 360 kilometres, linking phosphate and potash mines to the Port of Aqaba, Emirates News Agency, WAM, said.
Furthermore, the company signed two additional MoUs with Jordan Phosphate Mines Company and Arab Potash Company to transport 16 million tonnes of phosphate and potash annually from mining sites to the Port of Aqaba via the Jordanian railway network.
This strategic connection aims to create a transformative shift in the transportation of essential materials, enhance export capabilities, and improve logistical efficiency, thus, creating job opportunities in the transport and mining sectors, and contributing to economic development in the kingdom.
During the signing ceremony, which was attended by UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Suwaidi, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh highlighted the strategic significance of the railway project, underscoring the “solid” relationship between Jordan and the UAE, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
The prime minister said that the railway project is expected to be completed within five years, with operations beginning in 2030, adding that detailed studies on the railway routes and the handling of potash and phosphate will be finalised by the end of 2025, with construction tenders anticipated to be issued in early 2026.
