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TRANSPORT
Bridging the divide
To make the project more
manageable, the ministry
has split it into four
phases, each of which will
be developed in turn. The
ministry plans to award
the JD795m ($1.1bn)
first phase, connecting
its borders with Syria
and Saudi Arabia via
Irbid, Amman, Zarqa and
Mafraq, in June 2010.
The Transport Ministry is also looking
for investors for a £E360m plan to move
the section of the Matruh Railway running
between the towns of Fukkah and Samalla
in the northwest of the country. The ministry
hopes that moving the rail line will free up
beachfront land for development.
The rail projects elsewhere are even
more ambitious, not least Jordan’s plans
for a nationwide freight network linked to
the borders of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq
and Israel. Its Transport Ministry launched
the fundraising for the $4.5bn scheme to
investors in Paris on 13 November.
To make the project more manageable,
$7bn
high-speed railway between
Mecca and Medina, and the
$7bn Saudi Land bridge rail link
connecting the Gulf and Red
Sea coasts
the ministry has split it into four phases,
each of which will be developed in turn. The
ministry plans to award the JD795m ($1.1bn)
first phase, connecting its borders with Syria
and Saudi Arabia via Irbid, Amman, Zarqa
and Mafraq, in June 2010. A developer is
expected to start work the following month,
with the first freight trains running on the
network in mid 2013.
For Jordan’s rail network to fulfill its
potential, however, its neighbours need to
build their own lines to connect with it. A line
from Damascus to the border already exists,
although its narrow-gauge track is too small
24 Link May 2010