Jordan Times
Tuesday, December 7, 1999
Industrial city of Duleil designated as a QIZ
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
and Saleh Hemsi
AMMAN — The United States has agreed to designate the industrial city of Duleil as a Qualifing Industrial Zone (QIZ) that can export to American markets under special rules, a local businessman said on Monday.
Halim Salfiti, the head of one of the companies that will qualify for the special export rules, said firms in Duleil, 30km east of Amman, would be able to export to the U.S. market tax-free and be exempt from certain quotas.
He said that three companies, two of them local and one international, had already started investing in the city under the QIZ agreement.
Salfiti said the trio planned to pump in a total of more than JD10 million, providing up to 1,000 job opportunities.
Salfiti added that Duleil's management team had received requests from several other companies to invest there, predicting that total investment could exceed JD250 million and provide more than 20,000 jobs.
The city, which provides all the needed infrastructure for companies interested in starting projects, has received many offers from South Korean, Indian and U.S. companies that want to benefit from the QIZ privileges.
Earlier reports indicated that the U.S. was inclined to accept joint Jordanian-Israeli demands for greater duty-free access to its markets.
His Majesty King Abdullah has embarked on several economic reforms and trade liberalisation to bring Jordan out of the current economic recession.
The King earlier this month began a tour of the Far East, including Japan, South Korea and China, in a bid to improve the Kingdom's economic ties in that region.
The King asked the South Koreans to make more investments and send more tourists to Jordan, and told them about economic opportunities such as QIZs. He emphasised the importance of QIZs as a strategic link between Asia and Europe via the Middle East.
For his part, South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung put in a word for the participation of South Korean builders in Jordan's construction projects.
In China, the King will discuss the establishment of joint ventures in the Kingdom, notably in the QIZ.
QIZs are advanced free industrial zones, built in cooperation with Israel and the United States, whose products can enter U.S. markets tax-free.
Al Hassan Industrial City, Jordan's first QIZ, began exporting to the U.S. and Israel in 1996 following the 1994 peace treaty with Israel.