Jordan's roads to be revamped

Jordan has 8,000km of roads

The Kingdom of Jordan has announced that it will undertake major work on its roads over the next 15 years as part of a new plan by The Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

Speaking to The Jordan Times, ministry secretary general Sami Halaseh said the plan would be, in part, to reclassify the country's road system. The development of the roads and highways into a 'coherent and compatible manner' would allow for consistency with other transport modes including rail, air and sea.

Halaseh has previously said the ministry's plan would cover all streets across the Kingdom, with three separate development plans - one in 2015, one in 2020 and the final one taking place in 2025.

"The ultimate objective of the study is to prepare a phased road sector development strategy for 2010-2030," Halaseh said, adding that the project would also develop a comprehensive database of roads all across the Kingdom.

A long road ahead

Plans for the redevelopment have been progressing over the last few weeks with Minister of Public Works and Housing Alaa Batayneh presiding over meetings last week for the Consultative Steering Committee for the Jordan Highway Master Plan.

With its 8,000 kilometres of roads, the project will be an extensive one for Jordan, which is considered a regional 'transit country'.

The development will be funded by a grant from the European Commission and European Investment Bank and Halaseh has indicated that the project will also analyse the state of existing roads, as well as identifying missing transport links, bottlenecks and other needs for further improvement.

The first phase of the project, which is expected to start next year, will see a diagnostic review of the road sector, with the second phase identifying areas for the construction of new roads and those that need upgrading and maintaining.

Due to its part as a major transit country for goods and services to both the Palestinian areas and Iraq, Jordan has a well-developed infrastructure, but years of usage have seen much of it in disrepair and in need or urgent upgrading.

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