Jordan is in advanced talks with the UAE’s Etihad Rail to develop a multi-billion-dollar mineral railway project linking the Hasemite Kingdom’s phosphate and potash mines with its Aqaba industrial port, the CEO of Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) said on Tuesday.

In September 2024, Etihad Rail had signed MOUs worth $2.3 billion with Jordan’s transport ministry and local companies to build, operate and maintain the mineral railway project.

“We are now in a very good stage of negotiations with Etihad Rail,” Hussein Al Safadi told a panel at the Global Rail event in Abu Dhabi. He said the talks also cover connecting Jordan's dry ports with the industrial port, the container and general cargo terminals, inspection formalities and passenger transport options.

Zawya Projects had reported in September 2024 that construction tenders for the project are scheduled to be issued in 2026.

Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail, told the panel that the Jordan project will follow the same private funding model used for the UAE–Oman Hafeet Rail project, with phased development, offtake contracts and cost optimisation to manage the heavy capex requirements of railway projects.

"We have managed to fund the [Hafeet Rail] project without government investments. That's the same approach we (will) do with Jordan..," he said. 

Hafeet Rail is a joint venture between Etihad Rail, Mubadala and Oman’s Asyad Group which is developing a 238-kilometre (km) railway beween Oman's Sohar Port and Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Rail had signed MOUs with Jordan Phosphate Mines Company and Arab Potash Company in September 2024 to move 16 million tonnes of phosphate and potash annually.

Al Safadi added that Jordan is also holding talks with Dubai-based DP World to establish logistics hubs, which could position the country as a regional trade centre and support Syria’s post-war reconstruction.

(Reporting by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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