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Ammon News - AMMAN - The Aqaba Development Company (ADC), the investment arm of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), on Wednesday announced it will implement the multimillion New Port of Aqaba project by itself.

With this announcement, the company ruled out an alternative, whereby the project was to be implemented in partnership with a private consortium selected through the tender process.

The decision came as a result of a failure in negotiations lasting six months between the ADC and the preferred bidder, the Aqaba Gateway Group (AGG).

ADC selected AGG as the preferred bidder in August, and Ayla New Port Consortium as the alternate bidder, according to ADC.

The company made the decision to implement the project by itself following “accurate evaluations and extensive consultations” with the government and the ASEZA, according to an official from the ADC, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a statement issued yesterday, the ADC said the decision was made in order to ensure that the project is carried out within the set time frame in order to hand the port site over to Al Maabar, a UAE-based company that bought the old portland and plans to implement a multibillion real estate development project there.

ADC said it will use its available financial resources to fund the project, including the proceeds of its corporate bonds - one of largest private placements in Jordan at the corporate level, according to the statement.

The company cancelled the tender process on Tuesday, after it could not reach an agreement with the AGG over the terms of the Development and Operation Agreement for the new port project, the company said in the statement.

Although the tender process has been cancelled, the ADC said it will invite the private sector to participate in later stages of the development and operation of the new port to leverage the full benefits of public-private partnerships.

* By Khalid Neimat/ The Jordan Times

** aA photo of Aqaba Port in its current location, which will be moved to the southern part of the area under a multimillion project (Photo courtesy of ADC)