– Penalty Fine Waivers: Exempts compliant entities from ~JD 8M in late payment fines following full settlement of JD 17M in principal debt owed to the Employment and Vocational Training Fund for job-creating productive projects.

– Smart Campus Initiative: Authorizes execution of the Sino-Jordanian Smart Campus Project to equip 100 digital classrooms across 10 public universities, build a central data center, and launch a unified learning platform.

– Airspace Reinvestment Escrow: Directs the Finance Ministry to set up a JD 14.5M escrow account from overflight fees to self-finance air traffic control towers and navigational upgrades following airspace redesign revenue growth.

– Water Carrier Financing: Secures a 16M euro financing contribution from Germany's KfW bank to finalize financial closure for the National Water Carrier Project.

– Municipal Electoral Framework:Approves the 2026 Municipal Council Membership and Electoral District Boundaries Regulation to prepare for municipal elections scheduled in H1 2027.

AMMAN, Nov. 9 (Petra) – The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan on Sunday, endorsed the draft 2026 Amended Cybersecurity Law ahead of its constitutional referral to Parliament for legislative processing.

The draft law updates foundational cybersecurity concepts, introduces legal definitions for emerging digital technologies, and expands the mandate of the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) in research, development, and risk mitigation.

It also regulates emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, enhances sector-specific incident response teams, and mandates joint capacity-building initiatives between NCSC and the National Academy for Public Administration.

To support economic activities, the Cabinet approved waiving roughly JD 8 million in penalty fines for non-compliant entities upon their full settlement of JD 17 million in outstanding principal debts owed to the Employment, Technical and Vocational Training and Education Fund. The measure targets productive development and employment projects that generated job opportunities for Jordanian citizens.

Under an international cooperation framework, the Cabinet authorized procedural steps to finalize the Smart Campus Project in partnership with the Chinese government. Financed via an $11.5 million Chinese grant allocated to the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, the initiative will equip 100 smart classrooms–comprising 95 digital lecture halls and five recording and broadcasting suites–across all 10 state universities.

The project includes establishing a centralized data center hosted at the Jordanian Universities Network (JUNet) facility within the University of Jordan, along with a unified learning management platform and technical training programs for local staff.

Following the operational redesign of Jordanian airspace–which boosted annual Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) revenues from JD 18 million to JD 32 million against a project cost of JD 2.8 million–the Cabinet directed the Ministry of Finance to establish a JD 14.5 million escrow account within its 2027 budget.

Sourced from CARC overflight fees, the funds will self-finance the construction of air traffic control towers and navigational system upgrades to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. The Public Service and Administration Commission will coordinate with the General Budget Department to fulfill CARC's staffing requirements for qualified air traffic controllers.

On water security, ministers cleared procedures to secure a 16 million euro financing contribution from the German Development Bank (KfW) for the National Water Carrier Project as part of ongoing financial closure arrangements prior to construction.

The Cabinet also approved the 2026 Municipal Council Membership and Electoral District Boundaries Regulation under Local Administration Law No. 16 of 2026. The regulation enables the Independent Election Commission to initiate preparations for municipal elections scheduled for the first half of 2027 across 104 municipalities.

It raises the statutory quota for women from 25 percent to 30 percent and establishes council compositions for four newly created municipalities: Bani Obeid, Ghor Al-Mazra’a, Jreineh, and Rjam Al-Shami.

//Petra//