The railway is the locomotive of economic growth, and infrastructure is the engine of surging power. It is reported that the Jordanian Ministry of Transport has formulated a development strategy for the Jordanian railway, which positions the Jordanian railway as a major regional trade and transportation hub. The completed Jordanian railway network will Become a gateway between Asia, Europe, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

According to the new strategy, the Jordan National Railway will be a 897-kilometer standard-gauge freight railway, connecting the capital Amman, major industrial cities, and the port of Aqaba, and at the same time connecting with neighboring countries to realize cross-border transportation in Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. interconnection.

In the first phase, Jordan will build a railway between the port of Kaaba and the capital Amman. The total length of this standard gauge line is 400 kilometers, connecting the port of Aqaba, container terminal, industrial zone and Maddouneh dry port in Amman. The feasibility study and detailed design of the first phase will be completed in the second half of 2020. Land acquisition is mainly concentrated in Amman, Mafraq and Aqaba. In the second half of this year, the tender documents will be completed.

The first phase will make the overall return rate of the project more than 10%, and the capacity of the Aqaba container terminal is estimated to be 3 million TEUs. In addition, by 2040, the volume of phosphate transportation will increase at an annual rate of 3%, when 11.9 million tons of phosphate will be transported to Iraq by rail.

The second phase includes the construction of a new railway line between Maddouneh and Amman, while the third phase will provide a transportation line from a dry port to Iraq.

The fourth phase will establish a transnational railway linking Syria. Through the construction of the railway network, Jordan is expected to further expand international trade-European markets, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the main imported commodities are refined oil and grain, and the main export commodities will include phosphoric acid and phosphoric acid. The port of Aqaba will become an important road hub. After completion, the railway network is expected to reduce road traffic congestion in Jordan and reduce the environmental impact of emissions.

The railway department improves the political position, actively serves the national strategy, does a good job in the preliminary work such as feasibility studies, preliminary design submission, etc., plans in advance the key tasks such as project bidding, construction organization and design, and accelerates the implementation of new projects. Editor/Sang Xiaomei