Amman - Jordan, April 6 2013 The General Assembly of Saraya Aqaba has approved on the 31st of March 2013 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 capitalization.

The meeting, which was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Aqaba, was attended by H.E Dr. Kamel Mahadin, Chief Commissioner of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA); General Assembly Members; Mr. Ali Hassan Kolaghassi, Chairman of Saraya Aqaba Board of Directors; H.E Eng. Ghassan Ghanem, Vice Chairman of the Board; members of the Board of Directors; Mr. Soud Soror, the company General Manager; the company's financial auditors Ernst and Young; and legal consultants Obeidat & Freihat.

Mr. Ali Hassan Kolaghassi - Chairman of Saraya Aqaba Board 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."

Mr. Kolaghassi added: "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. We are now in the final stages of reviewing these offers in order to reach a final decision."

H.E Dr. Kamel Mahadin, Chief Commissioner of ASEZA said: "The decision Saraya Aqaba took to raise its capital required courage and vision. We at ASEZA are proud of all the projects in Aqaba and we are committed to the success of these projects including Saraya Aqaba. 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."

H.E Eng. Ghassan Ghanem, CEO of Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) and Vice Chairman of Saraya Aqaba Board, stated: "Saraya Aqaba is one of Aqaba's pioneering projects that falls within Aqaba's investment vision". He also pointed out: "We at ADC were 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."

According to Mr. Soud Soror, the General Manager of Saraya Aqaba, the remaining work of phase one includes the construction of four hotels, a convention center, Souk Saraya, a beach club, a water park, infrastructure, staff accommodation, a technical zone and part of the residential units. He also expressed his optimism about the future of Saraya Aqaba and highlighted that Saraya Aqaba will come back strongly in the coming few months with the help of its partners to achieve its goals as originally planned.

Saraya Aqaba is Saraya's flagship destination, on the northern shore of Aqaba in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The project comprises approximately 634,000 square meter of master planned development that will be built around a man-made lagoon adding approximately 1.5 km of beachfront to the Gulf of Aqaba. The approximate total cost of the project is over one billion USD.

© Press Release 2013