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AMMAN -- A new entertainment complex featuring cinemas and shops will open in Aqaba later this year, the state-run Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) said on Saturday.
Developed by the corporation, the three-storey building hosts some 50 shops and is located at the heart of Aqaba, ADC Spokesperson Khalil Farrayeh told The Jordan Times.
The new project also includes three cinemas, one for children and one for families as well as a drive-in cinema powered by solar energy that was tested on Friday, Farrayeh said.
"The open cinema will show movies and will have a subscription to OSN TV entertainment network and beIN Sports," he said, adding that the use of solar power greatly reduces the operational costs of the facility, which fits 360 cars.
The ADC recently floated a tender for shop rental and is studying the submitted requests, according to Farrayeh, who added that the complex is designed to cater for the entertainment needs of families.
"The corporation will soon sign an agreement with a security firm that will be responsible for protecting the privacy of families," he said.
The complex compliments a previous project that rehabilitated a long street in the city centre, paved the sidewalks, and established a library and a six-kilometre pedestrian route, the ADC official added.
The ADC was launched in 2004 by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and the government.
It owns Aqaba's seaport, airport and strategic parcels of land, as well as the development and management rights for these assets, in addition to key infrastructure and utilities, according to its website.
© Jordan Times 2016
