Jordan Times
Monday, September 20, 2004
King urges development plan
Monarch directs the government to establish an industrial zone in the
city and rehabilitate a glass factory closed for several years due to accrued
losses
By Khalid Dalal
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday called on authorities to come up
with a comprehensive plan to develop the southern governorate of Maan to help
bring down unemployment and poverty in the region.
During a meeting yesterday with Maan community leaders at the Royal Court, the
King urged authorities to collaborate with Al Hussein University and establish a
fund to support small-scale development projects in the governorate of around
110,000 residents, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
According to a senior Royal Court official, the King also emphasised the
importance of activating the role of the state university as well as private
institutions in the governorate.
Improving the infrastructure of the Petra region, which falls within the Maan
Governorate, was highlighted by the King, who urged public and private sectors
to take the necessary measures to develop the tourism sector.
King Abdullah told the Maan community leaders that institutions promoting civil
society, women's issues, and young people's extracurricular needs are to be
encouraged as a stimulus for societal development.
On Sept. 11, the King met with four students from Al Hussein University who
conducted a study on youth development in Maan entitled "The Challenges and the
Opportunities."
After reviewing the study and the students' recommendations, the King stressed
the importance of youth taking the initiative and playing a leading role in
developing their communities.
The study and recommendations, finalised by Bilal Zarkali, Bayan Talhouni, Hadil
Qudsi and Emad Abu Saleh, highlighted "the humble efforts" by some institutions
to develop Maan's youth sector. According to the study, just 3.8 per cent of
youth in Maan are members of civil society institutions, and only 1.3 per cent
joined political parties.
During his meeting yesterday, the Monarch also directed the government to
establish an industrial zone in Maan and rehabilitate a glass factory closed for
several years due to accrued losses, said the Royal Court official.
The company's liquidation committee on Sunday placed an advertisement in
newspapers inviting interested investors to submit proposals for the purchase of
the defunct Jordan Glass Industries Public Shareholding Company.
The committee's step came after some Arab and foreign investors showed interest
in buying the factory which was once the largest in the Middle East, said
committee member Mohammad Kour.
The deadline for proposals is Oct. 18, Kour said.
"The company, which was established in 1984 with a JD15 million capital,
incurred losses totalling JD18 million," he explained.
According to an informed source, who declined to be named, the public-private
firm was subject to obligatory liquidation three years ago. It stopped its
operation in 1993 and in 1996 its workers, around 300, were compensated.
A local community leader, Fawaz Maani, told The Jordan Times that the King's
remarks at yesterday's meeting pointed to the government in precisely the right
direction to develop the governorate.
Maani said the government should also consider building a new hospital and
allocating more money for the municipal sector.
All future projects, urged by the King, will help ease the unemployment and
poverty rates in the governorate, said Khalid Bazaieh, a deputy from Maan.
The lawmaker called on the government to recruit more of his constituent's
citizens in the Armed Forces as another means of cutting unemployment and
poverty.
Some local community leaders were quoted by Petra as calling on the government
to pay more attention to environmental issues in their region.
Prime Minister Faisal Fayez, the King's Special Adviser for Tribal Affairs
Sharif Fawaz Zaben, Minister of Interior Samir Habashneh and Minister of
Planning and International Cooperation Basem Awadallah attended the meeting.