A technical delegation from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, ADFD, has visited the Kingdom of Jordan to review the progress of development projects financed by the AED4.6 billion (US$1.25 billion) grant allocated by the UAE government to support development projects in Jordan.

The delegation, accompanied by the operational team in Jordan, reviewed the progress of development projects approved for funding between 2013 and 2017. The team expressed its satisfaction with the ongoing status of the projects that are being implemented on schedule.

Adel Abdullah Al Hosani, Director of Operations Department at ADFD, said, "The projects implemented by ADFD in Jordan are in line with the US$5 billion grant sanctioned by the GCC countries - in which the UAE’s share was US$1.25 billion. The UAE government has entrusted ADFD with the management of the projects that are being implemented in cooperation with the Jordanian government. Developed after carefully studying the requirements of the people of Jordan, we are confident that the projects, once completed, will go a long way towards improving the standard of living in the country and enhance its economic development."

The ADFD delegation inspected several schools that the fund is financing. As part of the project, 85 schools are being established at a total cost of AED33.7 million across important cities in Jordan. Working to a pre-determined time frame, some of the schools are in the first stage of completion. The entire project is scheduled for handover by the end of 2017.

An amount of AED474 million was allocated to develop the public universities in Jordan as part of the UAE Government grant. Within a time-bound framework, 22 projects are currently being implemented in nine Jordanian government universities.

The delegation also monitored the progress of the sports complex project in Tafila Technical University that is 100% complete. Additionally, the delegation surveyed the progress of Al-Balqa Applied University project and the College of Medicine, both set to be completed by mid-2017.

An amount of AED33 million was allocated to finance 11 projects in Jordanian colleges. The technical delegation noted that most of the projects were complete and the remaining are set for completion by the end of 2016.

The delegation inspected the progress of the Oncology Treatment Centre project, as part of its support to the health sector in Jordan that has strategic and endemic importance to the Jordanian people. As part of this project, a fully equipped oncology centre was established to offer specialised medical services to cancer patients. Launched with an AED60 million grant by the UAE government, the project is set for completion by the end of this year.

It also inspected the progress of work on the rehabilitation of irrigation projects as part of a grant of AED64 million for the implementation of three projects. Most of the projects are now either complete or nearing completion. The full handover of the projects is expected by the end of 2016.

It reviewed the progress on the implementation of several dams such as Kufranja dam and Al Zarqa’a dam, set for completion by the end of 2017. As part of its visit to Jordan, the delegation also toured the renewable energy projects and the storage facilities for petroleum that had been allocated an amount of AED770 million – these are also expected to meet the same handover deadlines as the dam projects.

The delegates were also briefed on the progress of 15 projects in the transportation sector, valued at AED683 million. While 11 projects are complete, the remaining are set for completion as per the pre-agreed schedule.

The technical delegation also reviewed the progress of the Amman Development Corridor project that cost AED319 million and is set for completion in 2016. As for the LNG port project, constructed with an allocated AED117 million, this is now 100% complete and was also inspected by the technical delegation.

Finally, the Silos Expansion Project, for which an amount of AED259 million was allocated to finance in Al Juwaidah and Aqaba, these are set for completion in 2018.

Source :WAM