AMMAN - Construction work on Ayla Oasis and Aqaba Heights, two tourism megaprojects at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba is scheduled to start in the near future.
Under an agreement signed Sunday between the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), the Saudi Astra Group and the Ayla Oasis Development Company, the land for Ayla project was handed over to the company to start development work, according to a statement received by The Jordan Times.
The agreement was signed by ASEZA Chief Commissioner Hosni Abu Gheida and by Sabih Al Masri on behalf of Astra Group and Khalid Masri, on behalf of Ayla Oasis Development.
"We will start with the project soon. The company is in the process of awarding the international tender for infrastructure work, valued at JD135 million, which is part of the initial phase of development," Sahl Dudin, Ayla's managing director said.
"We expect to announce the winning company that will implement the infrastructure work between January and February," Dudin told The Jordan Times.
Ayla, valued at more than JD1 billion, will be implemented in two stages over the next eight years.
The project is a large, mixed-use development, evolving around developing 4,300-dunums of land by creating a series of inland lakes and lagoons with an overall area of 750 dunums that will add a spectacular 17 kilometres to the Jordanian shoreline.
The project includes the development of five hotels (1,500 rooms), 300 residential units with various configurations and settings and a town centre that encompass commercial and retail areas.
After its completion, Ayla will provide over 4,000 direct job opportunities for the local community, in addition to indirect job opportunities and services which will benefit the people of Aqaba and Jordan as a whole.
Another agreement was signed on Sunday for the development of Aqaba Heights by ASEZA and the Zara Investment Holding Company.
The agreement entails establishing and developing a comprehensive tourism and real estate project in Aqaba in a bid to transform the southern coast into a tourist destination adding more to the new architectural image of Aqaba.
Stretching over an area of 570 dunums, Aqaba Heights consists of the development of a four-star hotel containing 300 rooms in addition to 100 service apartments as well as a comprehensive commercial centre and 1,000 residential units with a large beach club for the use of the residents of the community.
The development cost of the project is estimated at JD275 million and the project will be implemented in two phases over the coming eight years.
The Aqaba Heights agreement was signed by Abu Gheida and Sabih Al Masri, chairman of Zara Investment Holding Company.
The two projects reflect part of the success story achieved in the Aqaba zone by having attracted more than $8 billion in investments by the first half of 2007. Investments in the tourism sector have accounted to about 50 per cent of total investment, the statement said.
By Mohammad Ghazal
© Jordan Times 2007
