Aseza celebrates seventh anniversary

Deputizing for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, who is Abu Gheida's predecessor, attended the opening of the two-day celebration, to which about 180 local, Arab and foreign media people were invited.

At the event more than two hundred international and local journalists, owners and managers of investment projects from various Arab and foreign countries, as well as representatives of the local community in Aqaba attended.

The ceremony included a series of special tours and field visits for reporters to the most important and significant investments and developmental projects, in the Zone.

Addressing the participants, H.E. delivered a detailed presentation regarding the philosophy and historical tips on the ASEZ.

The advantages of investing in the zone, as well as what it offers in terms of investment incentives and globally competitive work environment, were all the major aspects that Abu Gheida explained to the participants.

ASEZA succeeded in attracting $8bn, exceeding its target for the 2020, which was $6bn, by 133%, he indicated.

Journalists and reporters visited several projects in Aqaba, including Saraya, t, Karameh housing project, the Red Sea Resort, and Tala Bay, opening for 6 projects , as well as other investment projects , Concluding the second day of celebrations, Aqaba Develepment Corporation Ceo Development delivered welcoming remarks during a gala dinner hosted by a], in cooperation with the ADC, to a large number of ASEZ and foreign investors, leading statesmen, local and international members of the media and the press, as well as owners and managers of investment projects and representatives of the local community in Aqaba.

The third day of celebrations included a continuation of the media tour through a visit to the project site of Saraya and other projects

ASEZ projects rise as testimony to 'serious planning, promotion'
AQABA - Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority's (ASEZA) high-profile celebrations of its 7th anniversary had a single message to the public opinion: "We have been talking business."

When journalists told ASEZA Chief Commissioner H.E. Hosni Abdu Gheida at a Thursday press conference that nothing new was said regarding achievements and future plans of Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), the newly appointed chief said: "There have been people who cast doubt on the achievements and the size of investment attracted into ASEZ. Today, we can see the projects that were once on paper are now facts on the ground."

Since it was established in 2001, ASEZ attracted over $8bn of investments, exceeding its strategic goals set for the year 2020 by over $2bn.

H.E. Abu Gheida attributed the success to proper economic legislation, sound environment and the authority's independence in decision-making, in addition to a successful promotion campaign and good planning.

"ASEZA strives to create, regulate and sustain a globally competitive investor-friendly environment," he said.

Major developers seized the opportunity to announce a new phase of their multibillion investments, which concentrate in the real estate-tourism industry.

Dahabi attended Tala Bay's announcement of its third phase, which includes a five-star Hilton-run hotel, an 18-hole golf course to be built on a 1,100,000 square-meters, a country club, a three-hole golf academy and 200 residential units: villas, semi-villas and apartments.
At a cost of JD350 million, Tala Bay consists of other components within its 2,671,000-square meter area, including a two-kilometer stretch of beach on the Red Sea and a marina of 30,000 square meters.

The media tour also included Saraya Aqaba. Situated on the western tip of Aqaba, the project and its man-made lagoon will commence operations in 2009, its director Mazen Majali said.

The over $1bn project comprises approximately 610,000 square metres of master-planned development combining shopping, dining, entertainment, freehold accommodation and cultural activities within the context of a styled ancient city, he told reporters.
The premier also inaugurated the Radisson SAS and Marina Plaza Hotels as well as a JD31 million southern coastal highway, which was built for trucks to bypass Aqaba City, where they used to cause chronic traffic congestions.

National Housing Initiative
ASEZA officials said a JD590m mega housing project will be implemented on a 1,600 dunums in Aqaba and will include 12,000 residential units, 6,000 of which will be allocated as part of His Majesty King Abdullah's initiative. The "Decent Housing for Decent Living" was launched late February, targeting limited-income citizens. It envisions the construction of 120,000 units in five years.

The project will be constructed at several phases, with phase one including the construction of around 500-1,500 units by the end of 2008.

A recent households and populations survey, conducted in December 2007 by the Department of Statistics, estimated that the Aqaba area was inhabited by a total of 98,400 residents between 2004-2007, with a growth rate of 4.3%, compared with 2.3% at the national level.

The survey also indicated that 82.1% of the population were Jordanians while around 17,133 non-Jordanians were staying inside ASEZ's 375-square kilometer area during the period in question.

Solutions for labour shortage
Abu Gheida said at the Thursday press conderence that ASEZ faced in the beginning several obstacles, most pressing was the shortage of domestic labour in the construction sector.

However, he said, the training and recruitment project, co-implemented by the Jordan Armed Forces and Vocational Training Corporations, will inject more than 30,000 construction workers into the local market, including Aqaba.
Ghazi Shubeikat, DoS director general, said foreign laborers in Aqaba constitute now only around 25 per cent of the workforce.

ASEZA officials have complained that the people of Aqaba have shunned the thousands of jobs created by the several huge projects in the zone, attributing the trend to the notorious "culture of shame".

But as for laborers from other parts of the Kingdom, the main reason was the high house rents, said the chief commissioner, adding that the new housing projects will help address this problem.

Main port relocation
Imad Fakhoury, director of ASEZA's investment arm Aqaba Development Corporation, said the plan to relocate the main port to the southern tip of the zone will help give the final shape of the city as a primarily tourist attraction. He said the relocation means that more waterfront areas will be open for tourism investments.

More hotels on the beach are the answer to the growing number of tourists to Aqaba, which stood at over half-a-million in 2007.

Abu Gheida said the hospitality sector will witness an increase of more than 1,000 rooms this year, which would trigger competition and, subsequently, lead to lower prices.

The added value created by the port relocation plan is expected to hit 20 per cent and attract more than JD3 billion in investments, said Fakhoury, adding that the project will create more than 30,000 jobs over the next 20 years.
The port's handling capacity will double from 30 million tones to more than 60 million tones, he added.