Ammon News - The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Imad Hijazin, reviewed, during a meeting held at the Ministry's headquarters, the tourism development plan that the Ministry is working on in the Shoubak District.

The meeting was attended, on Saturday by Alessandra Blasi from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Mayor of Shoubak Adel Al-Rafaa’a, the Assistant Secretary-General for Technical Affairs, Engineer Ayman Abu Kharoub, the Executive Director of the Jordanian Company for Heritage Revival, Muayyad Abu Rumman, and the President of the Shoubak Tourist Villages Association. And the President of the El-Element Cooperative Society in Shoubak, a number of experts working with the Italian Agency UNOPS, and the Director of the Turath Office for Studies and Design, Dr. Rami Al-Zaher, according to a ministry statement.

Dr. Hijazin indicated that the development plan includes the following axes: the rehabilitation and improvement of services at the Shoubak Visitor Center, the establishment of a Challenge and Exploration Center, and the rehabilitation of four tracks so that the rehabilitation of the track (Wadi Al-Nakhil - Wadi Ghuwair) will begin as a first stage.

The restoration of the first phase of the village of Al-Jaya will be started by directing four heritage houses, so that the provision of the necessary allocations to complete the restoration of the heritage village will be studied later, he pointed out, stressing the need to work on developing a study to add a qualified walking path linking the visitor center with Al-Shoubak Castle, and the establishment of a market for local handicrafts near the visitor center.

Hijazin indicated that these projects are currently underway and their allocations are available for implementation, as studies and tender documents have been completed to implement the project to rehabilitate the Shoubak Visitors Center, and to establish an exploration and challenge center, explaining that the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation is financing the restoration project of the Shoubak Castle The restoration of four houses in the village of Al-Jaya, the rehabilitation of the path (Wadi Al-Nakhil - Wadi Ghuwair), as well as the provision of a craft market near the Shoubak Visitor Center.

In turn, the mayor of Al-Shoubak Al-Rafaa'a affirmed the municipality's keenness to cooperate with the concerned authorities to develop Al-Shoubak tourism, indicating that the municipality is fully prepared to provide the necessary support and services for the success of these projects.

for his part; The CEO of the Jordanian Heritage Revival Company, Muayyad Abu Rumman, said that the company is keen to cooperate and partner with the local community to make the paths run successfully, and to provide the necessary services to visitors, as well as to provide the best tourist experiences for the exploration and challenge enthusiasts of Shoubak visitors.

The heads of the associations affirmed their full readiness to cooperate to make these projects a success, especially with regard to operating and managing the tourist professions that attract visitors in the heritage buildings that will be restored, as well as the services provided to those who go to the tourist trails.

It is noteworthy that in addition to these projects, the Department of Antiquities, with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, is restoring and maintaining the ancient Al-Shobak Castle.