AMMAN -- As Al Rai daily celebrated its 41st anniversary on Saturday, the newspaper's director general, Omran Kheir, said its new, multimillion-dinar printing press complex would be fully operational in January.
The JD11 million complex, constructed on a 10,000-square-metre plot of land, is part of the Jordan Press Foundation's efforts to keep pace with the latest publishing technology, Kheir said, adding that the new complex will house the foundation's commercial press, warehouses and distribution operations, while its editorial sections and administration will remain at its current premises on Queen Rania street.
"This project has been designed... to meet the future needs of the institution to remain at the forefront of the newspaper and printing markets, locally and regionally," Kheir told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of a visit by the JPF board members to the location, some 20 kilometres south of Amman.
JPF CEO Ali Ayed told The Jordan Times that the new press would be the most advanced in the Middle East and would make the foundation uniquely competitive in the region.
"Our goal is not only to compete in the local market. The new printing machines will enable us to compete at the regional level," he said, adding that the JPF administration is already in talks with regional clients.
The project is the biggest investment to date by a local media company in newspaper technology, Ayed said, and will enable the company to consolidate its leading position in the market and sustain growth in a competitive market.
According to Osama Madi, the engineer supervising the construction of the complex, construction is 97 per cent complete and is expected to be finished by the end of July, when Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA), the German manufacturer of the new printing press, will begin installing the machinery.
"We are working round-the-clock to meet the deadline, which was modified several times to meet the requirements and specifications of the manufacturer. We hope before the end of the fasting month of Ramadan to finish all the construction work and hand it over to the owner," he told JPF board members during the tour.
The six-tower KBA Commander printing press will boost the JPF's capacity, commercial press manager Amjad Ayesh said.
"With the high-powered KBA Commander, we can offer our readers, advertisers and print customers full-colour newspapers, supplements and other print products with still greater visual appeal and immediacy," he said, adding for new technology will save time and manpower in the printing process.
Ayesh underlined that while the foundation will be aiming for the local market, they also seek to attract clients from abroad, in the region and beyond.
He highlighted that the press will be able to print up to 80,000 copies per hour.
The first issue of Al Rai, which is published by the JPF along with The Jordan Times and Hatem, a monthly children's magazine, hit the newsstands on June 2, 1971.
Known for its wide coverage of events aided by a network of correspondents in Arab and foreign countries, Al Rai provides its readers with news agency reports, features and commentaries, with economy, culture, politics, society, science and sports sections.
© Jordan Times 2012
