Gov’t to float tender for Amman-Zarqa rail link

By Paul Tate

AMMAN — The government will float a tender in early December for the construction of a 28-kilometre light railway connecting the capital with the industrial city of Zarqa, a transport official confirmed on Sunday.

Public Transport Regulatory Commission Director General Hashem Masaeed told The Jordan Times that so far six international companies had expressed interest in the project, which is designed to alleviate traffic congestion on the Amman-Zarqa highway.

“The tender will be floated on December 10 with the qualified bidder to be announced by March 2007,” said Masaeed, adding that the project will take two years to complete and will cost somewhere in the region of $120 million to $140 million.

The tender will be awarded on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis.

“The project’s main purpose is to alleviate traffic congestion between Amman and Zarqa and facilitate the flow of commuters and goods, but we also aim to promote the use of public transport in the country and encourage citizens to consider alternatives to the car,” the official said.

When completed, the rail system will transport 100,000 commuters a day between the two neighbouring cities, which have a combined population of more than three million citizens.

The volume of traffic between the capital and Zarqa, which contains more than 52 per cent of the country’s industrial plants, has increased over recent years in line with economic growth, which reached 7.2 per cent in 2005.

Department of Statistics figures for the first seven months of this year also show a rise in exports by 13 per cent, totalling JD1,627.5 million, compared to JD1,439.9 million during the same period of 2005.

Masaeed said the new rail link marks the first phase of a long-term vision to build a modern transport system to support the country’s economic development.

“We eventually hope to extend this rail system up to the Syrian border and south to Queen Alia International Airport and also to various parts of the capital,” he said.

He added that the new network would reduce diesel consumption by 9 million litres per year and the consumption of petrol by 7.5 million litres, saving JD6 million a year in energy costs.

Monday, October 9, 2006