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