Jordan Phosphate Mines Company is seeking a $90m loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a division of the World Bank, for the development of a new phosphate terminal.

The IPC will split the loan into a $30m tranche and a $60m tranche.

The total cost of the project is $180m. It involves the construction of a 4 million-tonne-a-year rock phosphate terminal at Jordan’s Aqaba port complex.

Work on the project should begin in October and last for two years and three months.

At the beginning of August, the company, which is listed on the Amman Stock Exchange, reported a fall in first-half profits.

Net profits in the first six months were JD67.2m ($94.5m), compared with JD75.2m during the first half of 2008.