Ammon News - Prime Minister Jafar Hassan laid the cornerstone on Sunday for a landmark natural gas supply project at Al-Rawda Industrial City within the Maan Development Area, carrying an estimated cost of 10 million dinars.

The project is financed through an Emirati grant provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, which forms part of a broader nearly 50-million-dinar allocation dedicated to supplying natural gas to industrial hubs across several Jordanian governorates.

The initiative falls squarely within the government's strategic roadmap to integrate natural gas infrastructure into industrial zones nationwide, a transition projected to slash industrial energy costs by 35 to 60 percent.

Scheduled for completion within 18 months, the Al-Rawda pipeline aims to heighten the industrial city's competitive edge, attract fresh capital investments, reinforce national export capacities, and generate sustainable local employment.

The groundbreaking follows recent executive measures by the Council of Ministers granting Al-Rawda Industrial City preferential investment incentives matching those of the Karak and Tafilah industrial cities. These provisions encompass subsidized energy tariffs, financial support for local labor wages, discounted container handling fees at the Port of Aqaba, and reduced land acquisition costs.

Prior to the groundbreaking ceremony, Prime Minister Hassan – accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mohannad Shehadeh, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, and Minister of Investment Tariq Abu Ghazaleh – was briefed on project timelines by Maan Development Company CEO Mohammad Abu Tayeh, Jordan Logistics Company for Oil Facilities CEO Ashraf Al-Rawashdeh, and Fajr Jordan-Egypt Company CEO Yasser Salah El-Din.