Jordan Times
Thursday, November 11, 1999
JVA takes 61 potential investors on tour of
'lowest point on earth'
By Ruba Saqer
and Saad G. Hattar
AMMAN — Sixty-one potential investors on Wednesday toured the eastern strip of the Dead Sea and were briefed by the Jordan Valley Authority on the locations, merits and conditions of various plots the government hopes to lease for tourism development, JVA officials said.
JVA Secretary General Avedis Serpekian noted that the guided tour was designed to acquaint potential Jordanian, Arab and foreign bidders with the qualifications of land plots on lease.
In October, the JVA and the Water Ministry floated tenders for the lease of nearly 440 dunums along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea for tourist projects within an overall investment “Master Plan” of $1 billion.
Advertisements in the local press declared the lease of eight plots of land for tourism investment projects.
By Oct. 31, 61 bidders had declared their interest in the projects, but the deadline was extended until Nov. 15.
Serpekian told the Jordan Times on Wednesday that the Master Plan's area is ready for full-scale investment.
He said the zone in question was provided with high standard infrastructure services along a six-kilometre stretch, at an estimated cost of JD17 million.
They fell within the first and second phases of an overall JD35 million scheme to upgrade the infrastructure along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.
By the year 2010, it is envisioned that 12,000 beds will be available on the shore to meet growing tourist demands.
Minister of Tourism Aqel Biltaji said recently that the number of tourists is expected to grow from 1.3 million people in 1999 to roughly 1.8 million at the advent of the third millennium.
According to Serpekian, the rate of return for Dead Sea tourist enterprises is projected at 28 per cent, one of the highest rates in the country.
In a bid to lure potential investors and ease bureaucratic registration procedures, the JVA laid down a new investment mechanism, he said.
Under the new regulations, bidders should be able to register and launch their respective projects within two weeks as opposed to “two and three years in the past.”
The JVA also decreased rental fees, which had been in the range of JD1,500 per dunum per year. International mega projects will benefit from a three-year grace period.
An assessment tripartite ministerial committee was also set up to closely monitor investment procedures.
On the other side of the equation, the JVA has moved to guarantee that the bidders have genuine desire and minimum required fund to tap such projects.
According to Serpekian, investors should adhere to hygienic and environmental standards and should build their projects in line with the indigenous architectural style.
Despite the scarcity of water, the government earmarked a total of 15 million cubic metres for the Dead Sea project, to be hauled from the Wadi Waleh and Mujib Dams in southern Jordan.
Envisaged projects in the plots, whose areas range from 10-69 dunums, include five-star hotels, tourist villages, boat stations, golf courses or health centres.
Serpekian stressed that the JVA is looking for projects with the highest potential for employing the Jordanian workforce.
The three-year-old land lease project falls within a “Master Plan” designed to develop the eastern shore of the Dead Sea at an expected cost of $1 billion.
So far, the five plots of land have been leased to tourist enterprises, including the high-calibre Swiss resort and spa chain Movenpick and the U.S. five-star hotel chain Marriott.