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PPP schemes to drive Jordan construction

13 June 2025

 

There is cause for optimism in Jordan’s construction and infrastructure sectors after the government took steps to implement its Economic Modernisation Vision (EMV) 2023-25.

The EMV – Amman’s flagship vehicle for its reform proposition – aims to increase average real income per capita by 3% a year, create 1 million jobs and more than double the country’s GDP over 10 years. The programme calls for the private sector to take the lead, accounting for 73% of the total $58.8bn of required investment.

For the vision to be realised, a large pipeline of public-private partnership (PPP) schemes is needed, covering areas such as water desalination, school construction, clean energy, green hydrogen, transport improvement and road construction.

Earlier this year, the PPP unit at Jordan’s Ministry of Investment announced that it is targeting seven key PPP projects in 2025.

Construction projects

One of the primary components of the PPP initiative is the scheme to build 17 schools under a PPP model. Being overseen by the Ministry of Education, the scheme will be developed using a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer model and will be undertaken in several phases across the country.

The UAE-backed Marsa Zayed mixed-use project in Aqaba is the other large-scale construction scheme that has made a head start this year and is expected to provide opportunities in the short term. In February this year, Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group selected Dubai-based real estate developer Mag Group to lead the first phase of the project, which is called Riviera Heights.

The scheme will be developed as a beachfront resort and residential community on the Red Sea coast in Aqaba and will cover an area of 3.2 million square metres. The first phase comprises four residential towers, a marina with 1,260 residential and 117 retail units, a hotel and hotel apartments with a beach club, an old souq marketplace with 50 retail shops, a yacht club and a visitors’ centre. It also includes the restoration of Aqaba’s minaret.

The other major project progressing in Jordan is the second phase of the Abdali mixed-use project in Amman. In May, the client announced that it had started the infrastructure work for the second phase, paving the way for the project to move forward. 

The second phase is expected to include constructing a multi-use conference centre that can accommodate 25,000 people, as well as two towers housing hotels, residential apartments, commercial centres and advanced medical facilities.

Infrastructure improvements

Jordan is also developing some major infrastructure schemes in the country, most on a PPP basis. The most prominent is the construction of a phosphate railway line, which is being developed by the UAE’s Etihad Rail.

The detailed study on the railway alignment and requirements for handling potash and phosphate is expected to be completed by the end of this year, followed by the main contract tenders early next year.

In September last year, Etihad Rail announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding worth $2.3bn with Jordan’s Transport Ministry and local companies to develop the project on a build, operate and maintain basis.

The other significant project out in the market is the new silica terminal in Aqaba. In May, Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation set 25 May as the deadline for firms to express interest in developing the project. 

The project will be developed on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis with a 20-year concession period.

For airports, a key move came in February, when Jordan extended Airport International Group’s BOT concession of Queen Alia International airport until 2039. The agreement is a crucial step in securing long-term investments in the airport’s infrastructure, expansion and operations.

Some of the key projects that will be undertaken to boost the airport’s passenger capacity to 18 million annually include installing nine security gates, upgrading the water supply, enhancing security checkpoints, developing a solar farm and conducting studies for runway rehabilitation.

Another major project that is currently in the market is the construction of a light rail between Amman and Zarqa, which will extend to Queen Alia International airport. 

In July last year, Jordan’s Hejaz Railway Corporation issued a tender to conduct a feasibility study for the project. The rail line will have a length of about 65 kilometres and the capacity to transport 40,000-50,000 passengers daily.

Other infrastructure PPP schemes that Jordan says it is negotiating this year include the development of the 15.82km-long King Abdullah II Road, the 14.7km-long Amman-Ajloun toll road, the rehabilitation and toll operation of the first segment of the 42km Amman Development Corridor, a bus rapid transit project and the King Hussein bridge land border crossing terminal project.

On the back of these schemes, the short-term outlook for Jordan’s construction infrastructure market will be buoyed by a confluence of positive opportunities that promise to invigorate what have been largely dormant construction and infrastructure sectors in the past decade. 

With the government’s commitment to large-scale infrastructure and construction projects, there is a renewed sense of optimism among investors and stakeholders. The anticipated influx of foreign direct investment, coupled with strategic partnerships in public-private ventures, is set to create a ripple effect that will stimulate job creation and enhance Jordan’s economy.

MEED’s July 2025 report on Jordan also includes: 

> ECONOMY: Jordan economy nears inflection point
> GAS: Jordan pushes ahead with gas plans
> WATER: Record-breaking year for Jordan’s water sector

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Yasir Iqbal

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