Day: February 16, 2023

Amman: Acting President of Constitutional Court of Jordan (CCJ), Mohammad Mahadin, on Thursday received a Libyan delegation headed by Counselor Mohammad Abd al-Salam Mohammad, as part of his visit to the Kingdom to review its judicial and legislative experience.

Speaking at the meeting, Mahadin lauded the “deep-rooted” Jordanian- Libyan relations, affirming CCJ’s readiness to cooperate with Libyan authorities and exchange expertise.

Meanwhile, CCJ’s members gave a presentation on the court’s jurisdiction after its establishment in 2012.

The judges said CCJ’s jurisdiction covers constitutionality of Jordan’s laws and regulations in force and interpretation of the Constitution’s provisions and its role in protecting and upholding it, according to a court’s statement.

The two sides also discussed mechanism of access to the court in accordance with Jordan’s recently-endorsed constitutional amendments, the statement said.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Minister of Investment, Kholoud Saqqaf, called on increasing Saudi investments in Jordan, especially since the Kingdom has multiple diversified investor opportunities in several economic sectors.

Receiving head and members of the Saudi-Jordanian Parliamentary Brotherhood Committee in the Saudi Shura Council (SSC) on Thursday, Saqqaf Saudi investments in the Kingdom have a “major” role in Jordan’s economic development and are among the “key” investments that contribute to Jordan’s development process and provide job opportunities for Jordanian youth.

To keep pace with developments in business environment and increase competitiveness in attracting investments, Saqqaf noted Jordan’s Investment Environment Law was endorsed and its bylaw features the best international practices, which offers multiple priviliges.

In this regard, Saqqaf noted the law treats Jordanian and non-Jordanian investors alike, defines principles of Jordan’s investment policy and elaborates investors’ rights and privileges, as well as key incentives and exemptions granted to investment projects.

The minister also noted the government’s keenness to stimulate flow of local, Arab and foreign investments and efforts to attract additional Saudi investments during the coming period, to take advantage of the “promising” development opportunities in various sectors and develop existing projects in Jordan.

During the meeting, the delegation was briefed on the key targeted investment sectors in Jordan, primarily high-value industries, information and communication technologies (ICT) health care, tourism, water, energy, mining, agriculture, education and logistics, in addition to the important partnership projects between the public and private sectors.

For his part, Head of the Saudi-Jordanian Parliamentary Brotherhood Committee, Ibrahim Qannas, lauded level of Jordanian-Saudi economic relations and the steps taken by Jordan’s government to improve investment environment, which would reflect “positively” on attracting more investments.

Qannas said Saudi capital views Jordan as an “important” investment destination in the region, given the two countries’ close relations and Jordan’s comparative and competitive privilges in the business environment.

He also referred to Saudi Arabia’s interest to increase volume of its investments in Jordan in multiple sectors.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Royal Jordanian (RJ) airlines’ revenues increased by 71 percent in 2022, reaching JD611.8 million compared with JD357 million in 2021.

According to an RJ statement on Thursday, the revenue growth was propelled by a 91 percent year-over-year increase in passenger volume, which amounted to 3 million in 20222 compared to 1.6 million in 2021.

The passenger occupancy rate increased to 77 percent last year from 68 percent in 2021, according to the company’s preliminary financial data for 2022, indicating an improvement in its operational performance indicators.

The number of flight hours and takeoffs increased by 60 percent, according to the data which also showed that the number of stations increased from 32 in 2021 to 48 in 2022 as a result of the reopening of stations that had been shut down during the Coronavirus pandemic and the addition of new stations.

According to the company, its net loss in 2022 was JD79.1 million, up from a loss of JD74.3 million in 2021. This was due, in large part, to a 69 percent increase in fuel prices in 2022, which resulted in an oil bill increase of JD97.8 million. In 2022, fuel costs made up 50 percent of variable operating costs, up from 37 percent in 2021.

Vice Chairman and CEO of the company Samer Majali expressed confidence that Royal Jordanian would continue to attract more customers and increase its market share as a result of the airline’s recent service upgrades, network adaptability, new station openings, and increased flight frequency to a variety of destinations.

Majali said the company is moving forward with its plans to upgrade its fleet for short, medium, and long-haul routes and that new aircraft will be introduced by the end of the year.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday inked a 79.46-million-euro agreement to build a plant for the treatment and recycling of tankered wastewater in the eastern region of Ghabawi.

The project is co-financed by a 41.3-million-euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a 30-million-euro grant from the European Union.

The facility will be designed and built by the Arab Towers Contracting Company (ATCCO) while CDM Smith Europe will serve as the project’s technical supervisor for $1.24 million provided under a grant from the EBRD.

The plant will have a daily treatment capacity of 24,750 cubic meters and will be fed by wastewater tankers which will no longer offload at the Ain Ghazal treatment plant in Amman.

By reducing traffic and odors in the Ain Ghazal area, the project is expected to improve the region’s environmental conditions and lessen the “biological load” on the Khirbet As-Samra wastewater treatment facility, according to a ministry statement.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Pharmaceutical Industry and Medical Devices Representative at the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) Fadi Alatrash on Thursday discussed with advisers at Kazakhstan’s embassy means for increasing economic cooperation between Jordan and the central Asian nation.

According to a JCI statement, Alatrash stressed the importance of Kazakhstan as Jordan’s primary entry point into Central Asian nations, opening up new markets for Jordanian goods.

He said that international trade shows held in Kazakhstan are a key venue for showcasing Jordanian products, particularly those from the pharmaceutical sector.

The advisers called for increasing trade between Jordan and Kazakhstan and capitalizing on the Jordan’s diverse product offering.

Source: Jordan News Agency