Jordan bus rapid transit moves to next stage

19 June 2016

French bank supplied $152m loan for the project

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has announced work on the second stage of its $166m bus rapid transit (BRT) project is to start shortly.

Work entails the installation of a four kilometre BRT route from the intersection of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Princess Basma streets in Abdoun, and through Princess Basma and Prince Ali streets all the way to Ali Bin Abi Taleb Street in Ras al-Ain, according to a local media report citing GAM infrastructure executive director Ahmad Malkawi.

The construction of this phase, which has a budget of $11.5m, is expected to last 14 months. Malkawi said measures will be taken to ensure smooth flow of traffic in the capital despite the ongoing construction work.

The 32km first phase of the BRT project, which runs between the Sweileh Circle and Mahatta area, is understood to have been partially completed.

The French Agency for Development (AFD) supplied a loan worth $152m for the project in 2015, with Societe Generale Bank arranging banking transactions.

The loan is understood to be payable between 2019 and 2033 with a three-year grace period.

The gap between the total project budget and the loan supplied by the AFD is accounted for by the expenditure when the project began in 2010. The Cabinet suspended work on the project in 2011 following concerns in terms of its feasibility and the lack of funding.

Ayman Smadi, executive director for transport at GAM, has told a conference in Dubai in April that a tender for some 180 BRT buses is expected to be released in mid-2016.

Smadi said the GAM is also considering a tramway system to help decongest road traffic in the capital and introduce a more efficient public transport system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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