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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The government, on Sunday, endorsed the draft 2017 state budget law in addition to the budget bill of independent government institutions, putting deficit at JOD1.604 billion or 5.5 per cent of the estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2016.

However, the budget deficit would go down to JOD827 million or 2.8 per cent of GDP when taking foreign grants and assistance into calculation. The draft 2017 state budget law, which, according to the constitution, should be deliberated and approved by the Parliament, envisages a total public spending at JOD8.946 billion, signaling a major uptick of 7.5 per cent or JOD621 million compared with the 2016 budget.

Revenues are estimated at a total of JOD8.119 billion; JOD777 million of which will come through foreign grants.

The 2017 draft budget runs in a tandem with a government approach to control and rationalize spending. To that end, the government didn't allocate any funds to buy office furniture or vehicles for public agencies while officials' travel allocations are slashed by 50 per cent.

A major proportion of capital spending in 2017 will be used to finance a nationwide development program. An amount of 120 million will be used to finance infrastructure projects in the governorates.