Amman, October 6 (Petra) – Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said the Aqaba-Shidiya-Ma’an railway project is a strategic initiative vital to Jordan and the region, with significant economic and developmental implications for the Kingdom’s southern governorates.

In a social media post, Hassan said, "Yesterday, we launched the implementation phase of a strategic project vital to both Jordan and the region the Aqaba-Shidiya-Ma’an railway project.

"This initiative is backed by the support and directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II and his brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.This is a major national project that will have a significant economic and developmental impact on the south." Hassan added, "It will bolster Aqaba's position as a gateway for trade and logistics, grant Ma'an a pivotal role in storage and distribution and enable future rail connections linking Aqaba to Syria, Türkiye and the Mediterranean." Hassan accompanied his post with a video explaining the project.

The laying of the foundation stone, held under Royal patronage and attended by a high-level Emirati delegation, marks a practical step toward moving the Jordanian National Railway Network project from the planning stage to implementation, in line with the Economic Modernisation Vision.

The Aqaba-Shidiya-Ma'an railway is among the major projects being pursued by the government under the Economic Modernisation Vision and its current implementation strategy.

The foundation stone ceremony marks the transition from planning to actual execution.

With an estimated investment of $2.5 billion, the project represents the first step in developing Jordan's national railway network, an integrated system connecting railways with ports, handling facilities and logistics hubs.

The project comprises two main routes connecting Aqaba's Industrial Port with phosphate production sites in Shidiya and potash production sites in Ghor Al-Safi, in addition to a link between Shidiya and Ma’an.

The planned network will span a total of 403 kilometers, including 360 kilometers for the phosphate and potash routes and 43 kilometers for the Shidiya-Ma’an link.

The railway is expected to transport approximately 16 million tons of phosphate and potash annually.

Ma'an will serve as a logistics hub for receiving, consolidating, storing, handling and redistributing goods, particularly following the completion of the Ma'an-Aqaba dry port.

Under the integrated transport system, the railway will handle high-volume freight, while trucks will serve local and international markets. Ma'an is expected to play a future role in distributing goods to eight regional markets.

The project is expected to reduce phosphate and potash transport costs by approximately $40 million annually and create around 5,000 jobs in the Kingdom's southern region.

//Petra// AK