ADC to entice port relocation investors

The Aqaba Special Economic Zone, set up as a duty free, low tax development zone in 2001, includes the entire length of Jordan's 27 kilometre coastline, as well as the port, airport and main urban area. A 20 year master plan was devised when the ASEZ was unveiled with the main objective being to transform the Red Sea city into a major business and leisure hub. At the heart of the plan was the relocation of Aqaba's port away from the established city area to a new location a full 20 kilometres to the south.

Port plans

The $3 billion two phase project tender initiative will not only see the entire port moved but will also allow the vacated stretch of seafront on Aqaba's coast road to be given over to new commercial, residential and tourism developments.

The new port facility will be constructed close to the Saudi Arabian border where there will be the advantage of deeper waters and the opportunity to upgrade services and substantially expand handling capacity. The current port, located so close to the main urban area, has very little space for expansion but it is hoped the new facility will see Aqaba's handling capacity jump more than three fold from 30 million tonnes per year to around 100 million tonnes, as a result of two phases of expansion over a 30 year period.

The relocation will better enable Aqaba to rival other regional ports as a major trading hub, while, according to an interview given by the ADC's Chairman and CEO Imad Fakhoury to Fairplay shipping magazine, it will also enhance the aesthetic value of large-scale tourism projects lined up for an area just to the north of the current facility.

Waterfront neighbourhood

Fakhoury believes the 200 hectare site vacated by the port represents 'one of the most sought after parcels of real estate in the world'. He hopes a new mixed-use waterfront neighbourhood and business district will be created, with investors and developers attracted by the zone's tax breaks and the city's proximity to tourist attractions like Petra and Wadi Rum.

One key component of any future development will be the provision of freehold residential units, while Fakhoury has also earmarked at least three beach resorts for the site, with a total capacity of around 1,000 rooms. On completion, it is envisaged this area of the city will have been totally transformed.

The ASEZ has attracted a string of leisure and tourism projects over the past few years, with the announcement in mid December of a new $298 million shopping mall and resort to be developed by the Al Kurdi Group, being the latest scheme which will contribute to Aqaba's drive to become a more prominent Middle Eastern holiday destination. The Aqaba Mall and Resort complex, the seventh multi-level mall to be constructed in the kingdom, will include a four star hotel, which will add yet more hotel rooms to the thousands already lined up for the city.

Aqaba's resorts and tourism complexes are all several years away from completion yet and the ADC's port relocation scheme is of course still in its infancy but there is no doubt that as and when all these large-scale ventures are ready then what was once little more than a comparatively minor and sleepy Red Sea port city will have changed dramatically. The challenge then will be to entice legions of tourists to choose Aqaba ahead of Sharm El Sheikh or Eilat.