AMMAN -- The government on Wednesday decided to transfer JD20 million to the Aqaba Development Corporation to start the construction of a terminal for liquefied natural gas in the Port of Aqaba.
Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani told reporters the funds will be allocated from the budget of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, adding that the decision was taken upon a recommendation from the Economic Development Ministerial Committee.
The gas terminal in Aqaba aims at diversifying the Kingdom's natural gas sources instead of relying on a single supplier, particularly as Jordan has suffered over the past two years from irregular supplies of natural gas from Egypt.
Supplies from Egypt have on more than one occasion come to a complete halt due to sabotage attacks on the pipeline providing the Kingdom with gas.
Last week, Jordan and Kuwait signed a $65 million agreement to finance the liquefied natural gas terminal in Aqaba with a maximum capacity of 715 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The government expects the terminal to be ready in June 2014 to enable the Kingdom to import liquefied natural gas from several exporting countries, mainly Qatar, as officials from both countries entered advanced negotiations last year.
© Jordan Times 2013
