Maan, Aug. 18 (Petra) -- Minister of Investment Tareq Abu Ghazaleh on Tuesday inspected the trial run of the school transportation project in the Southern Badia region.
The inspection was attended by Sahar Al-Shakhatreh, secretary general of the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, who represented the minister.
Abu Ghazaleh reviewed the technical and operational readiness of the bus fleet, approved routes, and safety and tracking systems ahead of the official launch of the service on Sunday, coinciding with the start of the new academic year. The national project aims to provide safe, regular, and free school transportation for students.
On the sidelines of the tour, Abu Ghazaleh chaired a meeting with the governor of Maan, representatives of security agencies, and local education directors and school principals to emphasize inter-agency coordination and field monitoring to ensure the project's success.
The minister stressed that the project's success is a shared responsibility, describing it as a national initiative that supports the educational process and drives local community development. He added that the initial phase in the Southern Badia will serve as a foundation for expanding the initiative to all governorates.
Abu Ghazaleh noted that the trial run marks the final stage in testing the transport system's readiness, emphasizing that student safety, operational efficiency, and service quality remain top priorities.
He explained that the initiative extends beyond traditional school transport to deliver broader developmental benefits as a direct investment in human capital, local economic activity, and job creation. Selecting the Southern Badia for the project's launch reflects the government's commitment to directing services where they are needed most to achieve balanced regional development, he said.
The minister added that the Ministry of Investment, through its mandate over public-private partnership (PPP) projects, works in integration with the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and relevant stakeholders to leverage private sector expertise to improve public services.
Al-Shakhatreh affirmed that her ministry is closely monitoring all aspects of the educational process and service coverage, including participating schools, routes, and beneficiaries, to ensure smooth implementation. She stated that the trial run allows for testing operational routes and readiness before welcoming students, adding that the transport service will cover teachers and administrative staff alongside students.
The project is executed through institutional cooperation among relevant government entities, with the Ministry of Interior through local administrative and security officials handling field coordination, and the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) overseeing technical and regulatory requirements.
The initiative serves as a model for public-private partnership, with its first phase expected to create approximately 220 jobs. The trial phase in the Southern Badia deploys nearly 120 buses serving 61 schools, catering to around 9,000 students and 900 teachers and administrative staff, ahead of a planned nationwide rollout.
//Petra// AF
