A $5bn railway plan to transform Jordan into a center for regional trade and commerce received a major boost recently when the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) announced that it is in talks with global financial institutions to fund the mega-project, according to press statements from OBG. The IDB said on May 27 that it was working with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank on the deal. Other sources have confirmed to media that the Agence Française de Développement, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Kfw (Germany's state-owned development bank) also plan to participate. The planned railway is expected to have a major impact on the region, providing a cargo and ultimately a passenger link from Jordan to Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Iraq, as well as Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. Stretching some 1600 km, the railway will link the Red Sea port of Aqaba with Syria via the capital, Amman, and Zarqa. It will also link the Saudi and Iraqi borders with the northern Jordanian city of Irbid and the towns of Mafraq and Azraq in the north-east. Cargo train speed is expected to reach 120 km per hour and 160 km per hour for passenger trains. The country currently has about 507 km of track, with the most important link between Damascus and Amman part of the 1300-km Hejaz Railway, which was built by the Ottomans in the 1900s. “According to feasibility studies, once operational, the rail project will spur economic growth and job opportunities not only in Jordan but also neighboring IDB member countries, including those in Asia and Europe,” said the IDB in a statement in May. BM
