Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan will receive a total of $500 million by end of August from the World Bank as part of an agreement to provide the kingdom with financial support, bank officials said today.

The first $250 million of the amount has already been accredited to coffers of the government last month, as the other half is expected to be deposited in the central bank in the coming weeks as part of "concessional financing to support Jordan's ongoing reforms," said Ferid Belhaj, World Bank MENA vice president, said.

According to the WB, the $500 million First Equitable Growth and Job Creation Development Policy Loan (DPL) consists of a grant of $111 million from the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) and a non-concessional portion of $389 million.

The non-concessional portion has a fixed spread and final maturity of 35 years, including a grace period of four and a half years.

The WB would focus on development plans to improve education, protect the underprivileged, boost job creation and improve access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and creating job opportunities.

The WB financing will support reforms to reduce business costs and improve market accessibility as a way of boosting productivity, said WB officials during a meeting with Jordanian counterparts.

Jordan foreign debt is climbing to an alarming rate as the government is relying on foreign and local borrowing to meet its financial obligations. But economists have warned that loans without proper economic performance is a recipe of disaster in a country that has no natural resources, heavily depends on foreign aid and suffers from economic crisis due to political turmoil in the region.