Minister of Transport, Wajeeh Azaiza, on Wednesday inaugurated the 29th conference of the Middle East Rail 2022, which was held in cooperation with the Jordan Hijaz Railway Corporation (JHRC) and the International Union of Railways (IUR).
Delivering his speech at the opening ceremony, Azaiza lauded as “important” the rail event, which is held in its current version in the Kingdom, with the aim of linking Middle East member states with a single rail network, either by existing or future train projects in the coming years.
The minister also referred to the ministry’s projects currently being implemented, especially in the rail transport field.
In this regard, he pointed to the ministry’s steps to prepare the necessary studies and plans of the Jordan National Railway Project (JNRP), which is a key pillar of the national transport strategy, to link the ports of Aqaba with the consumption and distribution areas in Madouna and Ma’an land (dry) ports, respectively.
This JNRP will reduce the land transport costs, which would give Jordan a “competitive” advantage in the trade network between neighboring countries and “positively” affect manufacturers and suppliers in the Kingdom.
The JNRP, he noted, will provide new job opportunities through implementation and operation tenders, in addition to reducing the negative transport effects, such as traffic accidents and carbon emissions.
JHRC Director General, Zahi Khalil, said the conference is expected to produce “supportive” recommendations to link the surrounding countries with rail transport, and remove all obstacles related to rail interconnection.
The event, he noted, seeks to link neighboring countries with railways to transport goods and passengers with fixed standards, he noted.
Source: Jordan News Agency