The country is working actively on developing the Jordan National Railway Project (JNRP) from a technical and feasibility perspective. It is a significant strategic infrastructure project that will modernize Jordan’s logistics through institutionalizing cargo land transport, which would give the Kingdom a competitive advantage in the trade network, and positively affect manufacturers and suppliers in the Kingdom. This public-private partnership will create a great value proposition and economic benefits.
اضافة اعلان
According to the World Bank, the estimated cost to
Jordan of transport-related inefficiencies is about $3 billion a year, or at
least 6 percent of the GDP, without counting its impact on women’s
participation in the labor force.
Furthermore, greenhouse gas emissions from Jordan’s
transport sector are estimated to have increased to over 11,000 Gg of CO2 a
year, costing the economy a staggering $500 million to $1 billion per year.
A sustainable transport sector is a critical
building block of a green economy. Jordan’s transport sector generates over 9
percent of its GDP and employs nearly 7.6 percent of the labor force. The
demand for transport services is expected to grow by between 5 percent and 6
percent annually up to 2030.
Transforming Jordan’s road transport sector can open
new economic opportunities while also benefiting the environment and society,
improving the country’s resilience to the effects of climate change, and
decreasing the country’s total GHG emissions.
Investments in public transport boost the industrial
sector, including phosphate, potash, and refineries, and help ensure the
success of upcoming mining projects, like copper projects, expanding their
benefits, and enabling economic growth and inclusion.
Railway is 30 percent cheaper than other means of
transport, uses 50 percent to 80 percent less energy, and emits 70 percent less
carbon dioxide. In addition, it is safer and less noise polluting.
Jordan's transport sector generates over 9 percent of its GDP and employs nearly 7.6 percent of the labor force. The demand for transport services is expected to grow by between 5 percent and 6 percent annually up to 2030.
Within the next 10 years, we will see a complete
mobility reform across emerging markets in the Middle East, North Africa,
Central Asia, and South Asia, covering $614 billion worth of railway projects,
mega trade corridors, and smart cities. JNRP will allow for the integration of
the Jordanian railway system with a future regional network.
The first railway line in Jordan was the 1,050-mm
gauge Hejaz Railway, opened in 1908 between Damascus and Medina; the second was
Aqaba Railway, opened in the 1970s for the transport of phosphate from mines in
the Maan area to the port of Aqaba. Unfortunately, neither is still operating.
JNRP entails constructing a single track 418-km
railway line of standard gauge. It will be a strategic and transformational
infrastructure project sure to uplift Jordan’s logistics capabilities. This
closed-loop infrastructure, integrated wih the Aqaba ports and Queen Alia
Airport, will improve the efficiency of cargo transport, adding quality
service, reliability, and efficiency.
By 2030, the railway should carry 40 million tonness
of freight, and by 2040, 55 million tons. Furthermore, it will enhance Jordan’s
tourism sector and real estate development projects in key areas along the
railway alignment.
JNRP can generate substantial economic benefits that
promote Jordan’s sustainable growth, and prosperity, stimulating intra-trade
and commerce, promoting industrialization and other economic activities. The
project would have a positive economic internal rate of return generated from
savings in vehicle operation, road maintenance, environmental and social
impact.
Improving sustainability and governance, rail
projects may easily access sustainable financing, such as green bonds, which
helps achieve carbon neutrality before 2050.
The Jordanian mining and petrochemical companies’
financial stimulus is proving a sound investment and may fund improvements to
infrastructure, rolling stock, and services.
JNRP will also help create thousands of new skilled
jobs and support people who could be retrained and redeployed from other
industries. The railways will collaborate with the entire supply chain, based
on an explicit sustainable procurement policy, to reduce emissions, save
natural resources and provide good working conditions, according to Jordan’s
Economic Modernization Vision 2033 and the National Climate Change Strategy
2050, also coming ahead of COP27 and COP28.
Hamzeh S. Al-Alayani is a
board member of a Jordanian public-sector government investments management
company and a regular commentator on regional energy and industrial matters.
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