Ammon News - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) inaugurated its new office in Amman, as its cumulative investments in Jordan reached €2.468 billion through 91 projects since it began operations in the Kingdom in 2012. The bank’s current project portfolio stood at €1.16 billion as of the end of August.

The opening of the EBRD’s new offices in Abdali was attended by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan, EBRD Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Mark Davis, and EBRD Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Hashem Abdel Hakim.

The new Amman office comes as the bank enters a new phase of operations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Abdel Hakim assumed the position of EBRD Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of September, overseeing operations in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Speaking on the sidelines of the opening, Abdel Hakim said the bank’s investments in Jordan this year are expected to remain strong, driven by a number of projects currently under implementation and preparation across various sectors.

He added that the bank is currently working on a range of projects and expects to invest in around 10 projects this year, expressing the bank’s ambition to double the size of its business and investments in Jordan next year.

Regarding the National Water Carrier project, Abdel Hakim confirmed that the EBRD is part of the consortium of institutions financing the project and looks forward to completing the necessary procedures and signing the agreement at the appropriate time.

He also said the bank is focusing on developing the capital market and expanding support for bond issuances, rather than limiting these instruments to the banking sector, so that they can also benefit various private-sector industries.

Abdel Hakim noted that bond issuances allow companies and institutions to access larger volumes of financing while attracting financiers and investors from outside Jordan.

On the bank’s support for green and blue bonds, Abdel Hakim said the EBRD has already worked on such instruments in Jordan and aims in the next phase to move toward larger issuances and expand the capital market.

He explained that green bonds are linked to directing raised funds toward specific projects with environmental objectives, including renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects, with proceeds restricted to the designated areas.

Blue bonds, he explained, are linked to projects related to water and marine resources, including water and port projects, and follow the same principle of allocating proceeds to eligible projects under this type of bond.

The EBRD began investing in Jordan in 2012. Its strategy for the Kingdom focuses on strengthening the role of the private sector, supporting the green transition and developing sustainable infrastructure to help build a more competitive and resilient economy.