AMMAN — The
Jordanian Construction Contractors Association, the Jordanian Engineers
Association, and investors in the Jordanian housing sector on Sunday held a
press conference expressing their rejection of the amended draft of Article 175
of the Penal Code 2022, which stipulates that anyone who commits fraud while
carrying out his contractual obligations with the purpose of benefitting or
bringing prejudice to the public administration shall be punished either with
suspension of work or with up to five years in prison.
اضافة اعلان
The head of the
Jordanian Construction Contractors Association, Ayman Al-Khudari, told
Jordan
News that the article “mentions the suspension of a contractor for a period
of six months, renewable, this provides a fertile environment for accusing
contractors of fraud, which could deter investors from considering Jordan in
the future”.
According to
Khudari, the press conference attendees believe the amendment would “raise
prices in the housing sector by 30 percent because of the huge effect this
amendment will have on grants and loans that finance major housing projects in
Jordan”.
He added that the
amendment “came at a time when major projects were announced within the
so-called New Levant, including the construction of a railway from Aqaba to
Amman, of the national water carrier project, and other huge projects”, and
might prejudice them.
The amendment gives
anyone the possibility to accuse a contractor of fraud, and suspend his
activity during the whole period of the investigation, Al-Khudari said.
He stressed that by
rejecting the draft, the association does not defend or encourage fraud, and
that the association will take measures against “anyone who intends to cheat by
any means”.
Criminal justice attorney Omar Al-Jazi told
Jordan News that “there is no actual need for this amendment since there is a standard
contract for construction projects published in 2010 by the Ministry of Public
Works and Housing which solves all the issues that might happen between the
owner and the contractor”.
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