Advisor to the Prime Minister, Head of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Mahmoud Khoshman, reviewed on Wednesday 22, projects within the partnership program.

Khoshman, during an executive session organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (AmCham-Jordan), said the new projects in the port city of Aqaba include a new multi-purpose port, a liquids and oil products facility, a distribution network for natural gas, and an e-commerce center at King Hussein International Airport.

The new enterprises, he said, also include five major sporting cities, 12 sports complexes, sports centers in about 100 neighborhoods, 5 administrative contracts to run tourist sites in Ajloun, Umm Qais, Jerash, Jabal Qalaa, Tabaqat Fahl, and organization of tourist transport in Petra, Aqaba, Rum.

In addition to the government's funding, the International Finance Corporation - the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the United Kingdom, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Kuwait Fund for International Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and the Asian Investment Bank In infrastructure, USAID and the European Union will also contribute to financing the projects.

The Public-Private Partnership Law of 2019, which was approved by the Lower House last Sunday and expected to enter into force before the end of next March, was developed and drafted based on the best regulatory practices in the world, and is designed to enable the government to choose and present joint, high quality projects for investors and developers, he noted.

Under the new law, he said a directorate of public-private partnership was established at the Prime Ministry, with four employees scheduled to increase to about 10 during the first half of 2020.

For his part, the AmCham-Jordan Chairman of the Board of Directors, Eng. Mohammed Batayneh, said Jordan has "successfully" implemented partnership projects between the public and private sectors, such as Queen Alia International Airport, the first airport in the Middle East to be recognized as the best in the Middle East by the International Airports Council in 2014 and 2015, Aqaba Container Port, and Tafila Wind Farm, among others.