Jordan's Ministry of Investment has granted Jordanian citizenship to 65 investors during the first half of 2026, compared with 29 investors during the same period in 2025. The approved applications were linked to investments worth approximately 72.3 million Jordanian dinars ($102 million), in addition to citizenship being granted to 250 family members of investors.
اضافة اعلان
The ministry's performance report for the first half of 2026 showed notable acceleration across several investment indicators, alongside progress in developing the legislative and regulatory framework, simplifying and digitizing procedures, and improving the efficiency of services provided to investors.
The ministry said the results reflected a shift in investment policy, as part of the second phase of the Economic Modernization Vision for 2026-2029, from establishing frameworks and legislation toward accelerating implementation and maximizing economic and development impact.
The approach focuses on attracting high-quality investments, enabling existing projects to expand and develop, and directing investment toward high-value-added sectors and governorates to support local development and broaden the production and employment base.
Minister of Investment Tareq Abu Ghazaleh said the report reflects the ministry's approach of promoting transparency, measuring performance and clearly presenting results, while continuing efforts to turn investment policies and opportunities into productive projects with tangible economic impact.
He said investment performance should ultimately be measured by results on the ground and by the contribution investments make to the national economy through production, exports and sustainable employment, as well as the economic and development activity they generate across the Kingdom's governorates.
The report showed that 327 projects, including new projects, expansions and development of existing projects, benefited from incentives and exemptions during the first half of the year. Expected future investment associated with these projects reached approximately 711.2 million dinars, compared with 308 projects during the same period in 2025.
Total investment facilitation transactions, including new investment decisions, exemptions, follow-up services and post-investment services, increased from 2,992 during the first half of 2025 to 3,801 during the same period of 2026. The ministry also completed 3,153 follow-up transactions and issued 260 Jordanian certificates of origin.
The ministry prepared a unified guide for incentives and exemptions, updated the Harmonized System codes for goods covered by exemptions, and began developing an electronic system for exempt fixed assets and production inputs in development zones. The measures are intended to improve procedural clarity and accuracy while reducing time and costs for investors.
Development Zones See Strong Growth
Development zones recorded notable growth, with total investment rising from approximately 5.819 billion dinars to nearly 6.9 billion dinars during the first half of 2026, an increase of 18.79%.
The number of jobs provided by these zones also rose from around 117,000 to nearly 123,000, an increase of approximately 6,000 jobs, highlighting their growing role in expanding economic activity and supporting employment across the governorates.
A total of 46 new investment projects were registered in development zones during the first half of 2026, compared with 27 during the same period of 2025. Expected investment increased from approximately 60 million dinars to 402 million dinars, with the projects expected to create 1,841 jobs once implementation and operations begin.
Jordan currently has 20 development zones hosting 1,676 projects and companies, within a system aimed at supporting industry and innovation, directing investment toward high-value-added sectors, and strengthening the competitiveness of the governorates.
In the areas of regulation and compliance, the ministry issued or renewed 56 occupancy permits covering approximately 126,000 square meters. Investor satisfaction with developers in development zones increased from 75.1% to 77.1%, alongside the standardization of inspection and oversight procedures and the implementation of regular environmental inspections.
To accelerate the transition of projects from licensing to implementation, the ministry introduced an expedited process for issuing construction permits and occupancy permits, becoming the first regulatory authority in the Kingdom to implement the procedure.
The measure reduced the time required to issue construction permits from seven to 15 working days to approximately four days, while regulatory plans for projects can now be issued within one working day.
These measures helped increase the total licensed area inside development zones from approximately 85,300 square meters during the first half of 2025 to around 111,600 square meters during the same period this year, an increase of nearly 30%.
The ministry also approved the master plan for the third phase of the Dhuleil Development Zone, completed studies for the master plans of Ajloun National Park and the Jerash Development Zone, updated the master plans for King Hussein Business Park and the Dead Sea Development Zone, and converted the master plans of six industrial cities into geographic information system formats.
Legislative and Investment Reforms
In terms of the investment legislative framework, an amended regulation governing the investment environment, Regulation No. 30 of 2026, was issued. The changes aim to simplify procedures, shorten licensing and approval periods, and expand incentives to cover the expansion and development of existing projects, the introduction of modern technologies and the creative industries.
Instructions were also issued governing the granting of economic activity licenses subject to compliance in development and free zones, as well as the designation and work of representatives of government entities at the ministry.
The decision governing the granting of citizenship and residency through investment was also amended to enhance its economic impact, raise eligibility requirements and direct investments toward governorates and strategic national projects.
In investor services, the ministry issued or renewed 1,690 investor and family-member cards. It also granted six five-year residency permits through real estate investment, linked to investments worth 1.38 million dinars.
Government representatives working at the ministry completed more than 47,000 transactions covering residency, visas, entry approvals, work permits, tax transactions, and civil defense, environmental, health, food and drug, and company registration services. The system is intended to provide investors with integrated services while reducing the number of government entities they need to visit.
More Opportunities Listed for Investors
The number of investment opportunities listed on the "Invest in Jordan" platform increased from 44 during the first half of 2025 to around 120 by the end of the first half of 2026, covering various sectors and governorates.
The ministry prepared studies and terms of reference for several strategic projects and developed a mechanism to collect, assess and promote investment opportunities identified by municipalities and governorates. It also began regularly updating development projects across the governorates to turn local advantages into clear, viable investment opportunities.
The portfolio of public-private partnership projects expanded from eight projects in 2025 to 11 during the first half of 2026, covering transport, energy, water, education, healthcare and logistics.
The PPP Unit continued to strengthen the technical, financial and legal readiness of projects, issued prequalification documents for several strategic projects and completed feasibility studies for three projects, preparing them to move toward tendering, contracting and implementation.
Investment Promotion and Digital Transformation
The ministry carried out investment promotion activities and campaigns in China, the United Kingdom and several European Union countries. These included participation in trade fairs and economic forums, as well as direct meetings with companies, investors, investment funds, chambers of commerce and financial and development institutions.
The activities aimed to highlight Jordan's competitive advantages, promote priority investment opportunities and connect investors with them, as part of preparations for the Jordan-EU Investment Conference.
The Investment Promotion Directorate received 34 investment applications through its investor relationship management system and helped complete the establishment and registration procedures for six companies. Expected investment associated with these projects reached approximately $97.8 million, with an estimated 2,165 jobs to be created once the projects are implemented and operational.
The ministry also launched an updated version of the "Invest in Jordan" platform in Arabic and English, linking it to an interactive map of projects and opportunities as well as free trade agreements. It also developed an artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant to make investment information and opportunities more accessible.
As part of its digital transformation efforts, the ministry redesigned investment service procedures across six directorates and service units. It analyzed 121 services and consolidated similar ones, reducing the total to 94 services in preparation for automation.
The ministry also developed a modern communications system connecting investors and inquiries with relevant employees during and after official working hours, and began electronic integration with the Income and Sales Tax Department and Jordan Customs to exchange data and accelerate transactions.
It introduced an "Investment Calculator," an interactive digital tool that allows investors to enter the type of activity, project location and investment size and receive preliminary estimates of establishment, registration, labor, residency, energy, water, tax and operating costs. The tool also provides information on available incentives and enables investors to compare locations and investment scenarios.
Positive Economic Indicators
The report said the results were achieved alongside positive economic indicators. Real GDP grew by 2.9% in the first quarter of the year, while the Central Bank of Jordan's foreign currency reserves exceeded $26 billion at the end of June, covering approximately nine months of the Kingdom's imports.
Trading on the Amman Stock Exchange reached approximately 1.6 billion dinars during the first half of the year, while non-Jordanians held 46.4% of the market capitalization of shares. Total exports increased by 14.5% to approximately 6.4 billion dinars.
The ministry said the next phase would build on these results by accelerating the conversion of investment opportunities and applications into productive investments, expanding public-private partnerships, strengthening integration between government entities and the private sector, and continuing to develop a competitive and transparent investment environment that protects investors' rights and reduces time and costs.
It stressed that the priority would remain maximizing the economic and development impact of investment across the governorates, with success ultimately measured by projects entering production, existing investments expanding, young people finding jobs, local suppliers growing and governorates turning their resources and advantages into sustainable income and economic activity that directly benefits citizens.
Source: Petra
