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