AMMAN -- Saraya Aqaba announced in a press statement on Saturday that its general assembly approved last week an increase of JD450 million in the company's capital to help finance its flagship project in the city of Aqaba.
"The increase which will be injected in two parts: JD235 million in 2013 and JD215 million in 2014, will raise the capital of the company to JD785 million, and will propel Saraya Aqaba to the ranks of the biggest companies in Jordan by market capitalisation," the press release said.
Ali Hassan Kolaghassi, chairman of Saraya Aqaba, said: "Thanks to this capital increase, Saraya Aqaba will not require any loans at this time maintaining its debt free status, I am confident that the company will bounce back to accomplish its mission in the coming few months and overcome the obstacles that were encountered during the past period."
"The company had received offers from highly qualified contractors for completing the remaining works on its project, which will see the creation of a master-planned community featuring commercial, residential, tourist, recreational and infrastructure facilities," Kolaghassi added in the press release. "We are now in the final stages of reviewing these offers in order to reach a final decision."
Kamel Mahadin, chief Commissioner of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, said: "This milestone presents a new beginning for Saraya Aqaba and will push forward Aqaba's economic, trade and tourism sectors, providing business opportunities for local companies as well as contributing to providing thousands of jobs for Jordanians."
Ghassan Ghanem, chief executive officer of Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) and vice chairman of Saraya Aqaba, stated: "Saraya Aqaba is one of Aqaba's pioneering projects that falls within Aqaba's investment vision."
"ADC was one of the main supporters of raising Saraya Aqaba's capital in order for work to continue, because we believe that this project will contribute to the revival of Aqaba specifically and Jordan as a whole," the press release quoted him as saying.
According to Soud Soror, general manager of Saraya Aqaba, the remaining work of phase one includes the construction of four hotels, a convention centre, Souk Saraya, a beach club, a water park, infrastructure, staff accommodation, a technical zone and part of the residential units.
The project comprises approximately 634,000 square metres of master planned development that will be built around a man-made lagoon adding approximately 1.5 kilometres of beachfront to the Gulf of Aqaba. The approximate total cost of the project is over $1 billion.
© Jordan Times 2013
