The Municipality Launches Amman Vision Investment and Development

Watana Today - The Greater Amman Municipality on Saturday launched its investment and development arm, Amman Vision Investment and Development, which will offer investment opportunities in the land and assets owned by the Municipality to investors wishing to contribute to the Kingdom's renaissance and to deliver successful and viable projects. The Mayor of Amman, Yousef Al-Shawarbeh, said the land owned by the Municipality is suitable for investment and that investment in its assets is open to everyone and is not the preserve of anyone in particular, adding that "their value as assets reaches one billion dinars." He explained, during the ceremony launching the operations of Amman Vision Investment and Development, that the first group comprises seven projects and investment opportunities through Amman Vision, which is the principal developer of the land and investment licences owned by the Municipality.

He explained, during the ceremony launching the operations of Amman Vision Investment and Development, that the first group comprises seven projects and investment opportunities through Amman Vision, which is the principal developer of the land and investment licences owned by the Municipality. Al-Shawarbeh noted that work on the Amman Vision framework is aimed at combating unemployment and poverty and mobilising Jordanian capital within the Kingdom, affirming that the Municipality seeks to raise the efficiency of its financial revenues in a non-traditional way, and that investment activity had been limited despite the Municipality owning a considerable amount of land that could be put to investment use. He explained that bureaucracy in investment activity is one of the main reasons for the decline in investment in Jordan, and accordingly "we cannot ease the burden on government institutions and the system in general except through investment in the private sector." Al-Shawarbeh noted that investment applications would open on Sunday, both on paper and electronically, within the electronic services provided by the Municipality. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Hamza Al-Haj Hassan, said the company provides a diverse range of investment opportunities that serve the city and meet the needs of the market and investors and the aspirations of the Municipality and society, through investment options that express a genuine partnership between the public and private sectors, with the aim of achieving investment returns through sustainable projects of an economic nature aligned with the state's forward-looking vision as expressed by the Municipality.

Al-Haj Hassan presented the first group of investment projects - "jobs, scale of investment and the area of each project" - which were to be published on Sunday in local and online newspapers so that local and foreign investors alike could benefit from them with full transparency. He noted that around ten applications had already been submitted for these opportunities, but that nothing had been signed with any of them, in application of the principle of transparency and fairness in making opportunities available. He also announced that, as of the following day, the company would begin receiving letters of interest for the announced projects through the form available on the website www.ammanvision.jo, as well as receiving any expression of interest in delivering a project on land and assets belonging to the Municipality through its offices in the Abdali area.

Al-Haj Hassan explained that the first group of projects launched by the company comprised: the motor city in Al-Madouneh, which brings together new and used car dealers and traders and the associated services in one location; the Ghamdan project with its options, the first a leisure and services scheme offering a wide range of recreational activities, hotel buildings and a conference centre, in addition to a residential complex for those wishing to live away from the noise on the city's edge amid stunning surroundings; a mini box park in Abdoun bringing local, international and leisure brands together side by side; the investment strip (the Abdoun Corridor), which comprises residential, health and leisure projects; the exhibition grounds on Airport Road, comprising exhibition and conference halls and theatres; the Banking District in Abdoun, which provides banking services in an interactive and professional working environment; and automated car parks and smart parking in multiple areas, providing intelligent solutions for organising parking within cities. Al-Haj Hassan explained that Amman Vision had launched the Amman Bus project, and that the Municipality seeks to increase its income from new investment and from advertising and parking licences without imposing new taxes, thereby creating jobs for the country's people through projects that it hopes will support the national economy.