Amman, Feb. 5 (Petra) – Minister of Public Works and Housing Maher Abu Saman on Thursday chaired a meeting to address damage to agricultural roads in Madaba Governorate caused by recent weather depressions.

The meeting included Member of Parliament Samer Azaideh, Secretary-General of the Jordan Valley Authority Hisham Haisa, and Acting Secretary-General for Technical Affairs Wasim Adwan.

Abu Saman directed the formation of a joint technical committee comprising experts from the Ministry and the Jordan Valley Authority to assess the damage, prepare technical studies, develop cost estimates, and propose permanent solutions for the affected roads. The committee will conduct field inspections in Ayoun Musa, Ayoun al-Dheeb, Zarqa Ma’in, al-Jamaliyah, and al-Hamra al-Janoubiya, and determine the highest-priority sites for intervention.

The Minister also instructed the Roads Department and the Madaba Public Works Directorate to provide immediate technical support to temporarily reopen roads, ensuring farmers can access their lands until permanent rehabilitation is implemented. The results of the committee’s work will be submitted to the Prime Ministry for Cabinet approval in accordance with the Roads Law.

MP Azaideh underscored the strategic importance of the roads for the governorate’s agricultural sector and highlighted the need to resolve overlapping jurisdictions that previously delayed maintenance efforts. He praised the Ministry of Public Works for providing the necessary engineering expertise to support the Jordan Valley Authority.

Haisa said the Authority’s reliance on the Ministry’s technical expertise will accelerate rehabilitation works and address shortages in operational staff and budgets. He added that the Authority will begin securing materials and machinery to urgently restore several sites, noting that while it is responsible for these roads, it lacks sufficient personnel and technical capacity to identify needs and supervise works independently.

//Petra// AJ