Minister of Public Works and Housing Maher Abu Al-Samen affirmed the Ministry’s commitment to addressing sites damaged in Karak Governorate as a result of the recent exceptional rainfall, stressing that necessary measures are being taken on roads under the jurisdiction of both the Ministry and municipalities in the areas of Mu’ta, Al-Thaniyah, Ghor Numaira, and the town of Al-Iraq, with the aim of ensuring public safety and transcending administrative jurisdiction considerations.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking during the meeting, which was attended by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Dr. Imad Hijazin and Members of Parliament from Karak, Abu Al-Samen stated that the Ministry handled 220 reports during the weather depression, covering vital roads and areas across the Kingdom, including Wadi Shu’aib and others. He emphasized the necessity of expropriating or formally designating wadi channels to prevent encroachments and ensure that landslides do not recur.
Abu Al-Samen noted that the Ministry operates at full capacity during weather depressions, with 110 field teams deployed across the Kingdom, supported by 135 government-owned vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Public Works and Housing and 180 rented vehicles. He added that additional supporting machinery will be purchased during 2026 in accordance with the Ministry’s plan.
He also instructed Ministry officials to follow up on all observations raised by MPs and to complete decentralization projects, as well as school buildings and health centers, within the specified timeframes across all governorates.
For his part, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Dr. Imad Hijazin reviewed the steps taken to address the collapse of the wall adjacent to Karak Castle, noting that technical teams have begun collecting and numbering the stones to reuse them in rebuilding the wall in line with archaeological standards.
He pointed to ongoing coordination with the Higher Structural Committee to assess the site and protect the Karak Gate Project plaza from water flows, in addition to commissioning engineering offices to prepare a comprehensive technical study of the wall and contacting legal authorities to take the necessary actions regarding the implementation of the Karak Gate Project.
During the meeting, which was held in response to a parliamentary request, Karak MPs raised several observations regarding the need to improve infrastructure to keep pace with climatic and social changes. MPs Dr. Ibrahim Al-Tarawneh, Haitham Al-Zyoudain, Ahmad Al-Qatawneh, Jamil Al-Duheisat, Fathi Al-Bawat, Hussein Al-Tarawneh, Mahmoud Al-Naimat, Mohammad Al-Bastanji, and Ibrahim Al-Sarayreh stressed the importance of having a strategic plan and a clear timeline for stalled projects, particularly in the health sector and on the Kathraba and Sarfa–Jordan Valley roads.
The MPs underscored the need to increase the governorate’s allocations and address wadi channels and culverts to prevent the recurrence of landslides, calling for enhanced oversight mechanisms to ensure quality implementation and prevent the waste of financial allocations.
In the context of fieldwork, directors of departments at the Ministry of Public Works reviewed the status of current projects and future plans for infrastructure and service projects in Karak Governorate. They noted the start of updating the list of hotspots, which has reached 128 locations nationwide, and the follow-up on the implementation of vital projects in Karak valued at more than JOD 11 million, with a focus on road safety and lighting.
The meeting also emphasized cooperation with the Arab Potash Company to reconstruct culverts in Ghor Numaira and Al-Kharza Road to ensure traffic continuity and the safety of road users.
The meeting was attended by Director General of the Department of Antiquities Fawzi Qasim Abu Danneh, Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing for Technical Affairs Jamal Qutishat, and a number of department directors from the Ministries of Public Works and Tourism.
