MAFRAQ, Nov. 14 (Petra) – Total investment volume in the King Hussein Bin Talal Development Area (KHBTDA) in Mafraq has climbed to approximately JD 1.6 billion, Director General of Mafraq Development Corporation and CEO of Daman Development Zones Company Liza Al-Dughmi announced Saturday.
In an interview with the Jordan News Agency (Petra), Al-Dughmi said eight new investment contracts were recently signed to generate additional employment for local residents. She noted that the zone currently employs around 2,300 workers from Mafraq Governorate, accounting for 70 percent of its total workforce.
Al-Dughmi highlighted strong investor demand for the zone's new modular industrial buildings project, noting that more than 40 percent of its leasable space has already been contracted. Spanning 12,520 square meters, the facility offers ready-to-use industrial hangars in 500- and 320-square-meter units designed to lower initial capital costs for small factories and stimulate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Highlighting the zone's local community outreach, she pointed to the establishment of a vocational center to equip youth and recent graduates with market-ready skills, alongside a JD 700,000 complex housing a local workforce training center and free business incubators for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The initiatives were executed in partnership with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) and the Hashemite Fund for Development of Jordan Badia.
The zone has also signed a specialized training agreement with the National Employment and Training Company (NET) to prepare local residents for jobs within and outside the development area, as well as a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture to empower farmers and home-based businesses by linking their products to domestic and international markets.
Additionally, Al-Dughmi noted that the development zone has been integrated into the Food Industries Stimulation Project to advance local food processing and bolster national food security.
//Petra// AA
