Agreement worth $175mln signed to establish aluminum rolling mill in Jordan

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AMMAN — The Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) and Orbit Aluminum Industries on Wednesday signed a $175-million agreement, to establish an aluminum rolling mill in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA).

The aluminum rolling mill will be “the first of its kind” in the region, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The ADC, the investment arm of ASEZA, aims to create a “dynamic and comprehensive investment environment”, CEO of ADC Hussein Safadi said during the ceremony.

The project's exports are expected to reach $400 million a year, Safadi said.

The new Orbit factory, to be established on a 150-dunum plot in the South Industrial Complex area of ASEZA, will employ 240 people in its first phase, while another 400 local jobs will be generated in the second phase, he noted.

CEO of Orbit Mummtaz Daboul said that the company has decided to expand its operations in the ASEZA through introducing a new factory, noting that the move was driven by “the Kingdom's attractive investment environment”, notably following the decisions related to supplying factories with natural gas and allowing export industries to generate their electricity needs from renewable energy sources.

Established in 2016 in Aqaba, Orbit Aluminum Industries, an $82-million Canadian-Singaporean investment, is regarded as one of the region’s leading companies as it offers premium quality painted aluminum coils used in a wide range of products for architectural, corporate ID and signage, transportation, and industrial applications, with a production capacity of 30,000 tonnes annually, Petra reported.

Orbit, which is currently home to 160 employees, 70 per cent out of which are local workforce, exports some 98 per cent of its production.