This package on Jordan's construction sector also includes:

> Egis selected for Jordan hospital project
> Jordan's largest construction project to move onsite
> Hill wins work on Saudi-backed hospital project in Jordan
> PIF to invest $24bn in six Mena countries

Jordan’s construction sector will get a major boost this year as the country’s largest project prepares to move onsite over the summer after the first phase of its masterplan has been finalised.

The $400m hospital project is being developed by the Saudi Jordanian Fund for Medical and Educational Investments Company (SJFMEI) on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

For the hospital project, SJFMEI appointed US-based Hill International in partnership with the local sub-consultant Dar al-Omran to provide project construction management services last year. The project team is now preparing to tender construction contracts.

“We have completed the first phase of the masterplan,” Said Mneimne, senior vice-president of Hill International, told MEED in an interview.

“This summer, we will appoint a contractor for the enabling works. We will then appoint a contractor for the foundations and the structure,” he added.

The scale of the project is a challenge for Jordan’s construction sector, and an international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor may be needed to deliver the project.

“We have not yet decided what the contracting strategy will be,” Mneimne said. 

The project involves the construction of a university hospital with 330 beds, 72 outpatient clinics, a children’s hospital, and a medical school with a total capacity of 600 students and a projected annual intake of 100 students.

The project also includes five medical centres of excellence focused on disciplines such as cardiology, oncology, neurology, gastroenterology and orthopaedics. There will also be four scientific research centres in genomics and precision medicine, stem cells and regenerative medicine, health systems and public health, and bioinformatics.

The built-up area is estimated at 110,000 square metres. It will be located on the airport road, near the Ghamadan area on the outskirts of Amman.

A joint venture of Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) and Perkins & Will was appointed for the engineering design and supervision services.

SJFMEI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund (SJIF). Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns 95 per cent of the fund, while Jordanian banks hold the remaining 5 per cent.

Ownership of the project will be transferred to the Jordanian government after the end of the investment period.

The hospital is the largest active standalone project in Jordan, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects. The second-largest project is the estimated $228m King Hussein Bridge Terminal and Freight Yard project, which is at the prequalification stage.

Disappointing decade

Major projects are needed after a disappointing decade for Jordan’s construction sector. 

Data from MEED Projects shows a fluctuating trend in the value of construction and transport contracts awarded in Jordan over the past 10 years.

In 2013, the total value stood at $1.429bn. A sharp rise in 2014 to $2.475bn marked the peak of contract awards during the period.

A steep fall was witnessed in the subsequent years, with the total value plunging to just $662m in 2015, a dramatic decrease of nearly 73 per cent from the previous year. This downward trajectory continued, with the value plummeting further to a record low of $79m in 2020 amid the global economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A closer look at the data indicates periods of minor recovery, notably in 2017, when contract awards rose to $866m, following a particularly poor performance in 2016 at just $159m.

Despite these rebounds, the overall trend illustrates a declining construction and transport sector in Jordan, with the years 2021 and 2022 recording values of $32m and $86m, respectively, a stark contrast to the highs of 2013 and 2014.

The fluctuating values in contract awards reveal the industry’s volatility over the past decade, linked to regional instability, economic downturns and global disruptions including the Covid-19 pandemic.