Dr. Hamad Kasasbeh

The government has launched the Amra project as a new development corridor aimed at reducing the demographic and service pressure on Amman and Zarqa, opening a wider urban space beyond congested zones. Although the project carries a large construction footprint, the success of modern cities is not determined by how much concrete is poured, but by their ability to generate employment, production activity, and sustainable investment flows. Construction can be completed within a specific timeline, while building an active economy requires gradual market formation and functional accumulation that is reflected in real life inside the city.

Amra includes educational, cultural, recreational, commercial and sports facilities, which gives it the potential to evolve into a real market if early activation accompanies the physical rollout. Establishing training-based academic or technical programs alongside incentives for businesses to begin operating in the early stages can create a productive resident base capable of absorbing new housing supply rather than leaving it idle. What makes a city function is not buildings alone, but the density of use that charges them with economic movement.

Execution of the project is being implemented through the Jordanian Company for Developing Cities and Government Facilities, functioning as the planning and operational authority rather than merely a developer. This gives Amra institutional flexibility to control growth without allowing construction to outpace demand. With the first phase covering 40,000 dunums out of a total 500,000, the project stands as a measurable test of gradual occupancy capacity. Assuming a long-term population target of 250–300 thousand residents over fifteen years, annual occupancy growth of 2–3% becomes realistic if accompanied by balanced economic activity.

Regional experience offers valuable insight. In Masdar City (UAE), demand followed supply through knowledge-economy growth; in Egypt’s Administrative Capital and New Alamein, demand increased after government relocation. Neom in Saudi Arabia generated investment demand before construction reached maturity, while Ordos in China reflected what happens when physical expansion precedes economic readiness. Lusail in Qatar and Dilmunia in Bahrain provide further examples of cities where demand was built through health, tourism, and digital services rather than construction alone.

This highlights the importance of land governance and gradual land release, where development is staged rather than launched all at once, using flexible instruments that include sales, long-term lease or co-development with the private sector. Rapid expansion without parallel economic activity may lead to oversupply, as shown by global cities that faced occupancy gaps between 20–35%. Meanwhile, phased development has proven capable of reducing these gaps to below 10% over time — a difference created not by more land, but by smarter sequencing.

Sustainable success also depends on diversified housing options for working and middle-income groups, linked to employment in technology, education, light industry and services. Efficient public transportation expands the catchment of demand and reduces mobility cost, turning relocation to Amra into a practical decision rather than a lifestyle risk.

Financing begins with public investment at the foundation stage, then transitions gradually toward a model based on operational returns, land development, and investment growth. Early indicators of activity — services functioning, education commencing, facilities receiving users — narrow the activation gap and reduce direct reliance on public funding.

Ultimately, the success of Amra will be shaped not by land size or building speed, but by its ability to form an economy that moves in parallel with urban growth. When supply and demand meet, when activation aligns with actual residential settlement, and when employment, mobility and services expand organically, the project will evolve from a construction site into a sustainable engine of growth — not merely a city planned on paper, but a city lived and produced.