Transportation Sector January 2009 Transportation Sector
Table of Contents Snapshot...... 3 The Sector and the Economy...... 4 Economic Flash...... 4 Transportation Sector: Economic Dimension...... 5 Granted Finance...... 6 The Ministry of Transport...... 8 Regulatory Highlight- Investment Promotion Law and the Transportation Sector...... 9 National Agenda 2008 - 2010...... 10 Air Transportation...... 12 Land Transportation...... 17 A- Public Transportation...... 17 B- Freight Land Transport...... 22 Maritime Transportation...... 24 The Aqaba Port...... 24 Jordan Maritime Authority - JMA...... 26 Railways...... 28 Railway in Jordan...... 28 Pipeline...... 30 Arab Gas Pipeline...... 30 Other Aspects of Transportation; Logistics...... 31 Logistics: Courier Services Sector...... 31 Key Players...... 32 Financial Review...... 35 The Index...... 35 Balance Sheet...... 36 Assets...... 36 Debt and Equity...... 37 Income Statement...... 37 Profitability...... 38 Summary & Conclusion...... 41 References...... 42 Transportation Sector
Transportation Sector
Snapshot
Situated strategically at the tip of the Red Sea, which links Africa to the west with Asia to the east, and laying within close proximity to Europe in the north, Jordan has historically served as a transit hub for goods and services, travelers, and pilgrims. Furthermore, despite the country’s lack of natural resources and its sensitive Middle Eastern location at the heart of the region’s political turbulences, Jordan’s affirmative political standing coupled with an abundance of historically noteworthy, religiously significant, and naturally unique landmarks have all succeeded in attracting an increasing number of tourists each year. These factors have all given special importance to the country’s transportation sector.
During the centuries that Jordan had acted as a crucial gateway, located on some of the most important ancient trade routes, global markets and businesses have evolved in sophistication, efficiency and technological advancement. The need for speedy communication channels became increasingly evident, and the prospects of life were revolutionized on all fronts including transportation and communication.
In order to keep pace with such a trend, and given the country’s naturally borne role in international trade, the Jordanian government realized the importance of giving top notch priority to the transportation sector’s infrastructure by devoting high levels of investment. Thus, in 2008, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) adopted the government’s vision and translated its aspiration into a three year national agenda that set the overall framework for the sector’s development. This plan promotes sound competitiveness and encourages private sector participation.
A large section of the national agenda focused on the aviation industry, which is increasingly growing in importance as a key means of transportation worldwide. Airport infrastructure developments topped the government’s priorities, as explicitly embedded in the Queen Alia International Airport’s expansion project; a tender that was granted to the Airport De Paris consortium. Accordingly, the airport’s rehabilitation process started in 16 November 2007 and is estimated to carry on through 25 years.
Land transport, which is Jordan’s main means of transportation, also made up a major section of the government’s plan; the development of the main, secondary, and rural road networks has overstepped several milestones during the past 20 years, leaving a notable impression on Jordan’s general outline. Nevertheless, the current network had initially been planned without taking into consideration the possibility of an explosive growth of population, as occurred recently due in large to the influx of migrants from neighboring countries and the return of many Jordanian expatriates. As such, existing roads failed to totally digest the traffic congestion caused by the accelerated number of vehicles. This triggered the Greater Amman Municipality’s concern, encouraging it to incorporate additional developmental and expansion goals into the strategic outlook, taking into account the threat of the notable increase in the number of accidents over the past decade or so.
Despite the fact that Jordan lacks access to major water fronts, maritime transportation was given its fair share in the national agenda, which demonstrates the importance of the Port of Aqaba as a strategic waterway that contributes sufficiently to the national economy.
Although Railways are currently a rarity in Jordan, the agenda shed light on the importance of reviving and developing this sector as an efficient and economic alternative to road transport. The plan outlined a number of proposed railway tracks, including the Amman - Zarqa Light Rail project as part of the Jordan Railway Master Plan, which has caught much of the media’s attention at late. The government is dedicating significant efforts into attracting the required investments to steer these projects into operation by no later than 2011.
Recent economic figures issued by the Department of Statistics (DoS) placed the transportation sector among the country’s fastest growing economic sectors, in fact, the transportation and communication sector grew by 7.3% during this year’s second quarter (Q2), contributing by approximately 1% to the nation’s GDP during the period. Last year, the government had set aside a significant proportion of its 2008 annual budget to transportation related projects, and recent figures reveal that roughly 57.9% of the budgeted allocations were already utilized by July 2008.
Additionally, according to the DoS, the transportation sector’s prices grew by 24.9% during the first ten months of this year compared to the same period of 2007. Meanwhile, the CPI grew by 15.6% covering the same period.
The Sector and the Economy
Economic Flash There are major economic challenges facing the economy of Jordan. Given the 2008’s second quarter performance, GDP grew by 6.72% by June 2008, recording a lower growth rate than the one that prevailed in the same period of 2007 and 2005 that stood at 7.4% and 9% respectively.
Growth Rates of GDP for the Second Quarter 2005-2008 10
8
6
4
2
0 2005-Q2 2006-Q2 2007-Q2 2008-Q2
Source: Department of statistics
Inflation % 18 16.2
16 15.6
14
12
10 8.2 8 6.6 6.25
6 5.4 4 3.5 3.6 4 3.4 3.2 3.1 3 2.2 1.8 1.8 2 1.6 0.7 0.6 0 8 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Oct-0 Source: Central Bank of Jordan & the Department of Statistics
Transportation Sector
Jordan economy remains under the pressure of public debt, inflation, and trade balance. The outstanding external public debt stood at JD 3,591.9 million by the end of September 2008. Inflation on the other hand reached unprecedented levels as it jumped to 15.6% by the end of October. Such inflation figure is recording a historical level if taken on a span of 18 years considering that 2007’s yearend rate didn’t surpass 5.40% from 2006’s rate of 6.25%
The trade deficit is considered as one of the major challenging factors restraining the economic prosperity. The deficit reserved4 0.1% of 2007’s GDP, while it represented 19.6% only of 2003’s GDP.
2008’s first 10 months figures revealed an increase by 27% in the trade deficit to record JD 5,675 million as the value of imported merchandize reached JD 10,303.2 million while the value of total merchandize exported reached JD 3,672.1 million.
Transportation Sector: Economic Dimension Transportation sector holds a significant importance in the economy of Jordan, where the government had realized the importance of investing into the transportation infrastructure as a solid lever for other sectors’ prosperity. Efforts of advancement have materialized by 2006 when the government declared its plans to upgrade the Queen Alia International airport and the light railway project. The government also put considerable endeavors into developing the road network especially through main highways to assure declined congestion accompanied by growing population in addition to supporting the smooth flow of trade and tourism. Aqaba’s free zone contributed to the economy backed by a well equipped port and an international airport.
According to the department of statistics, transportation, storage and communication sector topped the list amongst other sectors growing at 7.3% and contributing to Q2, 2008 total GDP by about 1%, figures issued by the department of statistics revealed that by June 2008 GDP grew by 6.7%. on the other hand, transport activities had its share in the semiannual inflationary augmentation as the «transportation» commodities groups came second in its price increase rate which quoted an increase of 20.48% following the main group «fuels and lighting» that had a 48.71% price increase as of June 2008.
Transportation sector’s benefits overlap with other sectors’, its importance is expressed as being an intermediating channel that facilitates the mobility needed by the trade and tourism sectors, should a strong and expandable transport network that promotes better materials, resources, and human movement is guaranteed in an efficient and effective manner, then better economic conduct shall follow across other economic sectors, cascading a positive effect on the relevant stakeholders’ welfare.
Gross Domestic Product - Transportation and Communications (at Basic Prices)
Transportation GDP Growth
9.000 16%
8.000 16% 16% 7.000 15% 6.000 15% 5.000 15%
4.000 15% 15% 3.000 14% 2.000 14% 1.000 14%
0 14% 2004 2005 2006 2007 H1, 2008
Transportand Communications 1,076.30 1,143.10 1,181.90 1,236.90 646.100 GDP at Basic Prices 6,822.8 7,378.7 7,967.0 8,491.4 4,319.4 Weight 15.78% 15.49% 14.83% 14.57% 14.96% * Items in millions of JDs ** H1 values disclosed by Deportment of Statistics *** Source: The Central Bank of Jordan Sector GDP 2004 2005 2006 2007 Finance, Insurance, Real 1,143.3 1,345.2 1,463.5 1,531.3 Estate & Business Services Manufacturing 1,180.1 1,271.8 1,398.9 1,458.7 Transport and Communications 1,076.3 1,143.1 1,181.9 1,236.9 Producers of Government Services 938.0 981.9 1,047.5 1,122.6 GDP at Basic Prices 6,822.8 7,378.7 7,967 8,491.4 * Items in millions of JDs ** Source: The Central Bank of Jordan
s sector؛Transportation sector occupied an important weight in the economic activity for the past 4 years, transport and communication GDP came third in its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product at constant prices in 2007 with a weight of 14.57% following the Finance, insurance, real estate & Business services sector that topped the list with JD 1,531.3 million GDP and a 18.03% weight in the total GDP, while manufacturing came second with 17.18% weight and a total output of JD 1,458.7 million.
It is noteworthy to mention that transportation contributed 14.96% to 2008’s first half GDP and came third following Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, Business Services and Manufacturing activities. Transport, storage and communication activates poured JD 646.08 million into the economy, such contribution grew at 7.78% compared to a value of JD 599.4 million realized in 2007’s first half.
Granted Finance Licensed banks extended JD 352.30 million in 2007 in credit facilities to support the transportation sector compared to a value of JD 291 million extended in 2006. Analyzing credit facilities on monthly basis in 2008 indicates a varying trend in the allocation as follows:
Period Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 June-08 July-08 Aug-08 Spet-08 Oct- 08 Transportation Services 347.8 358.1 373.4 372.8 376.5 370.10 375.9 366.40 365.0 365.6 Growth Rate -1.28% 2.96% 4.27% -0.16% 0.99% -1.70% 1.57% -2.53% -0.38% 0.16% Weight (in Total Cr. Facilities) 3.06% 3.09% 3.14% 3.06% 3.02% 2.87% 2.83% 2.76% 2.74% 2.75%
400 14.000
Transportation Services 350 12.000 Total Credit Extended 300 10.000
250 8.000 200 6.000 150
4.000 100
50 2.000
0 0 Dec 03 Dec 04 Dec 05 Dec 06 Dec 07 Jan 08 Feb 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 Jun 08 Jul 08 Aug 08 Spet-08 Oct-08 Transportation Services 166.6 174.10 219.60 291.00 352.30 347.80 358.10 373.40 372.80 376.50 370.10 375.90 366.40 365.0 365.6 Total Credit Extended 5,262.40 6,189.20 7,744.30 9,761.90 111,295.60 11,364.80 11,594.60 11,910.20 12,168.20 12,461.50 12,911.30 13,284.90 13,259.50 13,331.90 13,317.20
Source: Central Bank of Jordan Transportation Sector
Credit Facilites Granted for Transportation Services - Annual Basis 400 35%
350 Transportation Services 30% 300 Growth 25% 250 20% 200 15% 150 10% 100
50 5%
0 0% Dec 03 Dec 04 Dec 05 Dec 06 Dec 07
Source: Central Bank of Jordan On annual basis, the amount allocated for transportation displayed an accelerated trend throughout the past five years reaching a balance of JD 352.30 million in Dec 2007 compared to JD 166.60 million in 2003 and growing by more than the double.
Budgetary Allocations The Government of Jordan allocates budgetary amounts for all active legitimate entities including Royal Court, Royal medical services and the ministries. The biggest share of the government’s funding is normally allocated to the ministry of Finance as the only entity that receives more than JD 1 billions annually.
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Center/ Year Actual Actual Estimated Indicative Indicative Ministry of Transport 488,820 819,000 23,825,400 4,823,600 1,193,900 Ministry of Transport / Meteorology Department 1,428,253 1,511,475 1,755,800 1,894,900 1,965,900 Ministry of Transport / Civil Aviation Authority 19,615,198 20,684,920 - - - Total Budget 3,912,381,674 4,586,000,000 4,936,740,000 5,461,457,523 5,873,414,164 Source: Ministry of Finance
Despite the fact that the spending rate on projects didn’t surpass 40.5% of the pre allocated budget and that 36% of the pre planned projects weren’t given the starting signal, the Ministry of Transport was amongst the governmental entities that realized one of highest spending rates reaching 57.9%, taking into consideration that real development took place after April, 2008.
Lack of external funding imposes itself as a restraining factor; in fact, the government is still searching for financing for the JD4 .3 billion comprehensive railway project, the government has extended invitation for seven companies to undertake financial and technical studies of which one is to be chosen by January of 2009. In an initiative to encourage the flow of funds, allocations for land expropriation have already been projected in the government’s 2009 -2010 budget; such act is vital to smooth the path for investors to carry on their strategic projects and ensure the availability of land. for The government realizes that any delay will definitely mean a significant augmentation in capital charges, which at some point could result in the project becoming no longer financially feasible.
The Ministry of Transport
The Ministry of Transport (MoT)- formerly the Ministry of Communication- was established in 1965 and began its formal operations in 1972. Ever since, the ministry has been responsible for organizing all aspects pertaining to the development of the sector, by arranging its framework and planning its settings, including placing, enforcing and implementing transport general policies and freight tariffs.
Since 1988, the ministry signed many international agreements to facilitate movement across different countries in the world starting with Turkey and moving to Switzerland, Sweden, Romania, Poland, and the UK to name a few. Those agreements are aimed at smoothing the mobilization of goods and passengers via land, marine, and airports by developing solid cooperation with these countries
The ministry is striving to elevate the competitiveness of the transportation sector in Jordan through setting a regulatory context that assures the best quality of service for the public. Road, freight, air, marine and rail transportation were covered in the National agenda of the Transport Sector (2008-2010), the target of which is to mobilize the private sector’s involvement through providing all types of facilitations pertaining to transport related projects that guarantee better control and quality of public transportation.
The human element’s development was highlighted in the strategy as it emphasizes initiatives for labor rights and better protection of the underlying workforce.
There are six governmental entities that are closely affiliated with the MoT and encompassed in its organizational structure. Except for the Department of Meteorology and the Civil Aviation Authority, the entities, listed below, enjoy managerial and financial independence:
1) Civil Aviation Authority 2) Aqaba Railways Corporation 3) Jordan Hejaz Railways Corporation 4) Department of Meteorology 5) Public Transport Regulatory Commission 6) Jordan Maritime Authority
The ministry also established four joint economic cooperation with Arab countries through the following companies:
1) Iraqi Jordanian Land Transport Company, Headquartered in Amman. 2) Jordanian Syrian Land Transport Company, Headquartered in Amman. 3) Syrian Jordanian Shipping Company, Headquartered in Lattaqia. 4) Arab Bridge Maritime Company, Headquartered in Aqaba.
Currently, railway development tops the MoT’s priorities list. In 2007, a study addressing this issue was undertaken to assess the financial and economic feasibility of a railway project, its implementation and the identification of an appropriate location. These efforts became a reality when Jordan signed the railway development agreement with both Al Madar Finance & Investment and Al Aqeelah Finance Leasing & Investment to connect Zarqa with Amman. Moreover, as aviation is becoming one of the most competitive sectors on the regional and international levels, the ministry is supervising the Queen Alia International Airport reconstruction project that will expand the airport capacity and allow for higher operational efficiency.
Transportation Sector
Regulatory Highlight- Investment Promotion Law and the Transportation Sector
In order to circumvent the economic turbulence that seemed inevitable at the time- due in part to the sudden expansion of the Jordanian populace post Gulf-War I- the early 1990’s have witnessed the launching of a variety of structural reforms, which have been progressing ever since. As the features of these reforms became apparent, and while globalization was sweeping across the markets of the region, the liberalization of Jordan’s trade sector qualified it to become a World Trade Organization member linking it with some of the most prominent global markets. Moreover, the Jordan-Us Free Trade Agreement and the Jordan-EU Association Agreement emphasized foreign trust in the Jordanian market. These agreements were meant to mobilize the flood of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.
To regulate these initiatives, the Jordan Investment Board articulated the Investment Promotion Law No. 16 of 1995 and its amendments of 2000. This law set the main legal framework that institutionalized investment activities and provides the prerequisites of a sound investment climate to attract inflows into the local economy. The law generally focuses on providing incentives by granting certain benefits to investors in a number of crucial economic sectors. Examples of these benefits include import fee exemptions, customs duty exemptions, sales tax and other exemptions.
Businesses that benefit from these advantages include, but are not restricted to, manufacturing companies, agricultural companies, hotels and hospitals. In addition, the law initially encompassed three segments of the transportation sector: maritime, pipeline, and railway transportation. Later in September of 2008, the land freight transportation industry was also incorporated into the law.
Article 24 of the Law states specific constraining regulations regarding foreign investment in Jordan. This article determines the legitimate form of foreign investment, the sub-sectors that foreigners are allowed to invest in, and the maximum permissible percentage of foreign ownership. Regulation No. 54 was issued in 2000 as an addendum to this article to provide an even clearer framework for non-Jordanian investment. Article 3 of this regulation explains that non-Jordanian ownership in specific industries shall be restricted to no more than 50% of the project’s capital. These business activities include maritime transport, rail transport auxiliary services, air transport auxiliary services and Road transport services.
Meanwhile, article 4 specifies that non-Jordanian investor ownership shall not exceed 49% of the capital of any project related to: A- Scheduled and unscheduled passenger, freight and mail air transport services. B- Rental services of aircraft with an operator
Although article 6 prohibits non-Jordanian investors from holding stakes or being involved in any way in passenger and freight road transportation services, including taxi, bus and trucking services. never the less, article 8 specifies that the Council of minister may upon the recommendation of higher council for Investment Promotion permit the ownership or participation in big development projects that enjoy special importance for any non-Jordanian investor in higher percentages than is provided by this regulation and according to the percentage set in the Council’s decision
On a related note, it is worth mentioning that within the sector’s legislative framework, the Touristic Specialized Transports Regulation No. 7 of 1995 obligates transportation companies to only utilize technically reliable, state of the art vehicles for their tourism transporting operations. Additionally, the MoT listed a number of conditions with regards to potential operators of tourism transportation services; these include possessing a minimum of 50 modern buses prior to receiving a license, as well as a minimum capital of JD 5 million. Furthermore, rental companies are required to possess at least 10 operational vehicles and a minimum capital of JD 1 million to operate in the business.
National Agenda 2008- 2010
The Ministry of Transport is set for a national strategy that will direct the developmental endeavors for the period elapsing from 2008 until 2010 for road, marine, air, railway, and metrology routes. The strategy includes many pillars broken down per each transport system.
Means of transportation addressed in the strategy cover the range of:
• Civil Aviation • Railway • Public Transportation • Maritime
The privatization process of civil aviation is of core interest to the government. The strategy envisions a free from exclusivity civil aviation sector, as privatization efforts will be the lever for relevant future initiatives, including completing the privatization of the airport and the “open sky” policy. The national strategy emphasized provoking further advancement in the sector through sustaining sufficient competitiveness among airlines and Jordanian Aero space companies, by forcing liberalized policies on the air transport sector in a way that guarantees the general economy’s interest.
Furthermore, congruence with environmental and economic industry wide standards was demonstrated through this strategy along with the continuous development of national legislation to adopt best practices regarding the civil aviation sector. The environmental aspect was highlighted due to rising concerns regarding pollution, especially that which results from aircraft noise and vehicle emissions. The railway transportation sector will be the focal point of attention in the up-coming developmental initiatives as demonstrated in the strategy. The legislative and regulatory axis emphasized the importance of better governance for the sector through upgrading the operator and distributor governing legislation.
The strategy also covered foreign affairs as it aims at building up regional and international relations to enhance the railway sector through two policies:
• Locating Jordan railways network within the regional rail network plan • Gaining the benefits of Arab and foreign experiences in the domain of railways
Motivating the private sector to invest in the railway scheme is deemed to be essential in the national strategy as the MoT intends to enhance private sector involvement through the privatization of railway operations; both the current and the upcoming.
The national strategy seeks increased development in the meteorology sector. The ministry is concerned with this area to assure the supply and maintenance of accurate weather and climate information disbursement to citizens’. The financial, administration and operational framework of the Department of Meteorology shall receive further organization. In general, the government is focusing on upgrading the level of service of railways, air transport, maritime and land transportation; four common objectives are being considered:
• Compliance with international standards • Private sector involvement through privatization • Qualified workforce • Integration of all sub sectors to form a coherent logistical chain
10 Transportation Sector
The strategy spelled out different objectives regarding the maritime transportation method. Thus far, attention was given to the procedural side of the marine sector. However, there are plans to upgrade the operational side of the port of Aqaba and turn it into a logistical center through the completion of its rehabilitation.
Roads Roads are the major channel of transportation in Jordan. The road freight transport sector’s laws are to be reviewed and new legislations are to be set. Regulations will place the frame for truck movement (entry and exist from cities) and shipments (medium and large). As for foreign affairs, more coordination on the international frontier is to be perused intensively though engagement in international transport agreements. The ministry’s goal of building a transport utility and logistical service center will be translated through the adoption of the policy of encouraging and supporting the establishment of inland ports, logistical service centers and their supporting utilities.
Public Transportation The national strategy covers the public transportation sector for the coming three years. The ministry will devote some effort to review and upgrade legislations and will be aiming to improve the level of service quality within higher levels of control. A special part of the strategy was devoted to the issue of partnership between the public and private sectors through workshops and open discussions regarding operational issues or any other type of explicit communication. The issues of environment and energy will be addressed and dealt with, in order to accomplish efficient energy consumption on a national level, since it is becoming a limited resource.
11 Air Transportation
The aviation industry in general is divided into two major sections:
• Civil aviation sector: airports, airlines, air navigation services • Civil aerospace sector: manufacture and maintenance of air craft systems, frames and engines
The air transportation sector plays a major role in the economy, especially through its job creating capability across different fields, including airline and airport operations, aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, passenger services, check-in services, baggage-handling, in addition to on-site retail and catering facilities personnel.
For instance, Etihad Airways of the UAE contributed by about 6% to Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP in 2007 through the 50,000 jobs that were created, stimulating tourism, businesses and investments. The aviation sector has achieved higher levels of efficiency worldwide when compared to its levels4 0 years ago. Today's fuel consumption
is about 70% efficient and the emission causing CO2 has been restrained due to the Air Traffic Management (ATM) approach and air craft operational saving.
Air transportation provides active support to the enhancement of the tourism sector. According to the Air Transportation Action Group, about 40% of international tourists traveled through air in 2007, up from the 35% recorded in 1990. Moreover, overseas visitors are supporting the creation of new jobs, pushing the economic wheel forward. In fact, air services comprise a major percentage of the total tourism sector’s employment In Africa for instance, about 25% of tourism jobs are air transportation related.
According to the Euro Med Aviation Project’s predictions, global air passengers will grow to 5 billion in 2010 and will exceed 9 billion in 2025, with big aspirations regarding the Middle Eastern stake in that growth. Also, air craft movement is expected to jump from 67.9 million in 2005 to 118.6 million by 2025, which calls for upgraded infrastructure in all airports worldwide, not to mention the need for updated airport and traffic control systems to support the new load.
Recently, Middle Eastern airlines, with the support of their hosting governments, have been taking major steps towards liberalizing their operations, partially through entering into open skies agreements. These agreements generally facilitate the airlines involved with unrestricted access to the underlying airports, in addition to providing an integrated control system. The Arab Air Carrier Association along with the Arab Civil Aviation Commission are looking for such integration through a synchronous effort with the European side through the European Organization for Safety Navigation – Eurocontrol.
Jordan, just like most other nations, realizes the importance of the aviation industry and its related services. In October 2007, Jordan hosted the Air Transport Seminar, which presented the Euromed Aviation Project; a project that aims at enhancing the aviation industry in Europe and the surrounding regions, and calls for the smooth, integration of services among Mediterranean countries in a safe and secured manner. The main expectation of the project is to initiate a road map for the region by creating a common and consistent aviating area that shares a common protocol, including Jordan
The Open Sky policies may be viewed from multiple dimensions. The higher level of exposure that such collaboration raises means increased competition to local operators versus the protective environment they are accustomed to. This competitive and growing sector will bring about higher demand for quality of service which will raise the bars for local airlines.
The Civil Aviation Regularity Commission (CARC) perceives such agreement as an initial step for a comprehensive agreement that targets the building of new capabilities regarding Air Navigation, Flight Safety, Flight Operations, Airworthiness Engineering, and Human Resources training. 12 Transportation Sector
Aviation Industry Structure in Jordan
Air Operators: • AACO- Arab Air Carriers Organization • Air carriers • Regional Training Center • Royal Jordanian • Queen Noor Civil Aviation Technical College • Royal Wings • Jordan Aviation • Technical school • Royal Falcon • Royal Jordanian Air Academy • applications : 2 Fixed Wings & 1 Helicopter • Mideast Aviation Academy • ATA; Aviation Technology Academy • Air Taxi • Jordan Air Academy • Arab Wings • 1 Under certification • Raya Jet • 1 Under certification- Waves Jet • Repairs startions • Cargo • JorAMCo; Jordan A/C Maintenance Company • Jordan International Air Cargo/ JIAC • JALCO; Jordan Air Motive Limited Company • Transworld Airfreight Company/ TRAFIC • JAC; Jordan Aeronautical System Company • MEAA; Mideast Aviation Academy • Pilot Schools: • RJAA; Royal Jordanian Air Academy • Royal Jordanian Air Academy • Aircraft Component Overhaul / Royal Jordanian Air Force • Mideast Aviation Academy Clubs • Ayla Aviation Academy • Royal Jordanian Falcon • 1 New application-Helicopter • Royal Aerosports Club of Jordan • Royal Jordanian Gliding Club • Centers • Jordan Airline Training & Simulation Manufacturers • ICAO – AVSEC Regional centre. • JAI; Jordan Aerospace Industries (SAMA CH -2000) • IATA Regional Training Office. • Seabird Aviation Jordan, Jordan building seeker A/C
Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) CARC was established in 1950 to undertake all aviation affairs in the country. At the beginning of its journey the commission was responsible for the Amman and Jerusalem Civil Airports, but the commission’s concentration was directed towards Amman airport’s operations by 1967 subsequent to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The major objective of the commission is to promote Jordanian civil aviation safety, security, and environmental compliance within a sound regulatory and competitive framework. CARC is the main implementer of the national security program set by the ministry of transport. The commission aims to promote the liberalization of the aviation sector, in order to reach a practical translation of the Jordanian government’s vision of a country with an “Open Sky”.
The commission’s liberalization ambitions were solidified when it removed restrictions imposed on carriers, in a step to enhance competition among airlines. Some of the accomplishments which have prevailed so far include:
• Open Skies / Update Air Service Agreement: the Open Sky policy was signed with 16 countries including the USA, Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Syria, UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Azerbaijan. The Open Sky agreement is focused on conducting liberalized agreements to ensure the openness of the local aviation market. The commission is looking forward to declaring Jordan as an open sky on a reciprocal basis and without any restrictions by the end of 2010. • RJ Restructuring: Royal Jordanian’s restructuring began in 1998 when some non core activities were outsourced. As shall be 13 elaborated on later in this report, the government sold a portion of its stake in RJ through a major IPO in an attempt to move forward with the sector’s liberalization. Furthermore, the commission was successful at eliminating the governmental subsidies that RJ used to receive, as the airline currently pays all fees and airport charges without any discrimination. The commission also adopted transparent, fair and liberal policies regarding licensing Jordanian air carriers to operate commercial air services, making room for competition in order to increase the level of efficiency in operations, which will eventually be reflected on the overall welfare.
• Market Access/ Economic Regulations: best practices were adopted to assure the protection of consumer and user interests regarding financial fitness insurance, safety, security, compliance, ownership and effective control. The new Civil Aviation Law No. 41 for the year 2007 was adopted to provide a regulatory framework that guarantees the appropriate context for fair competition that melts the barriers to entry into the domestic market.
• Other Restructuring Accomplishments: the privatization of Queen Noor Civil Aviation Technical College in late 2007, transference of King Hussein International Airport assets in January 2007 to Aqaba Airport Company (which is a subsidiary of the Aqaba Development Corporation) are among the projects of restructuring that took place last year. Also, Queen Alia International Airport’s restructuring project was initiated and the rehabilitation of the northern runway in Queen Alia International Airport sponsored by the French Airport De Paris has already started. In November 2007, the airport’s operating and development responsibility was transferred to Airport International Group Ltd.
Queen Alia International Airport QAIA came in to the Jordanian frontier as a solid demonstration of the air transportation services provision. Located 35 km south of Amman, the airport serves as the main gate for international passengers and is equipped with all types of traveling requirements and facilities, including two buildings for passenger departures and arrivals, two parallel runways with a 1,446 separation area in between and air cargo services along with all of the required safety and comfort means. Over the past couple of years, the airport witnessed growing importance, and it is anticipating even further growth in its operations. It is argued that the airport handles about 90% of the county’s traffic. Such the ascending load was consistent with the logistical development in the region, as logistics companies like DHL took on building more hubs at airports to enhance their express services and to reinforce their regional presences.
Further advancement is still on its way as manifested in the rehabilitation expansion & operations of the Queen Alia International Airport Project. After a competitive bidding process, the Government of Jordan awarded a 25 year contract to the Airport De Paris (ADP) consortium to undertake the expansion project. Under this deal, ADP will be responsible for upgrading the airport’s facilities, as well as its operations and management for the next 25 years. In addition, the project will include the construction of a brand new terminal, worth USD 700 millions over an area of 84,000 squared meters to increase the airport’s capacity in preparation for the expected increase in passenger load.
Passenger Volume Aircraft Movement
4,001,000 61,000 3,501,000 51,000 3,001,000
2,501,000 41,000
2,001,000 31,000 1,501,000 21,000 1,001,000 11,000 501,000
1,000 1,000 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
14 Source: Ministry of Transport Transportation Sector
The airport is a major yardstick in the country’s economy. The government, represented by the MoT, regards QAIA’s development as a critical investment and a direct contributor to the economy, especially considering its role in the logistics industry’s development. However, the latest statistics disseminated by the MoT triggered some concern, as they show a drop in certain figures related to air services, such as air craft movement and passenger volume. In addition, air cargo movement merely reached 48,512 tons in 2007 compared to 97,734 tons registered in 2006 and mail movement volume dropped to reach as low as 773 tons in 2007 compared to 6,960 tons in 2006.
Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian took on the role of the Jordanian flag holder and the official national carrier in 1963. RJ was established as a manifestation of the Royal Decree issued in 1963, bringing his majesty the late King Hussein’s vision into reality. The late king had explicitly expressed his aspirations for the national carrier “to be the ambassador of goodwill and the bridge across which we exchange culture, civilization, trade, technology, friendship and better understanding with the rest of the world.”
RJ, with its headquarters in Amman and its operations being conducted from QAIA, has a network of 54 destinations in four continents. Royal Jordanian Subsidiaries and Affiliates:
• Royal Wings as a full subsidiary • Jordan Airline Training and Simulation Limited (JATS) with an ownership of 20% Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Limited (JORAMCO) with an ownership of 20% • Alpha (the flight catering services company) with an ownership of 20% • The Royal Jordanian Air Academy with an ownership of 6%.
The Royal Jordanian entered a new era through launching a historic IPO that transferred roughly 71% of its ownership to the public. In late 2007 the government took the first step into the airline’s privatization and offered JD 84,373,350 of its stake in RJ through an IPO that sized JD 184,507,643; recoding an oversubscription of about 1.4 times with a number of subscribers superseding 29 thousand. The government collected JD 164.5 million though the offering, weighing about 60.52% of total IPOs in Jordan in 2007.
RJ advanced even further this year, as the airline commenced its aircraft modernization plan by adding the four Airbus A319, named Al Al-Mafraq to its fleet for the first time. The new airplanes enjoy high passenger capacity and speed, bringing about new standards of quality to the services front. The planes were launched with the attached hopes of creating a difference in the yearend’s bottom line. RJ has already saw elementary positive signs for such ambitions, as the disclosed number of passengers went up by 30% by the end of May 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, despite the ascending fuel prices that went up at a rate of 110%.
RJ's regional expansion was reinforced by the One World alliance that brings together ten of the world's biggest airlines. Such collaboration gained RJ access to a global network covering more than 675 destinations in more than 130 countries, in addition to facilitating smoother movement of passengers traveling across that network.
In June of this year, RJ was awarded the “Airline of the Year- 2007” title following a study conducted by Air Finance Journal, as an acknowledgement of its efforts in servicing the country and as hard evidence of the airline’s increasingly efficient and effective operations. This award came after many awards that RJ was granted within the last couple of year., To name two, RJ won the Phoenix Award, presented by Air Transport World (ATW), the leading monthly magazine covering the global airline industry, and the Merit Award for the Airline Turnaround of the Year 2006, held by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in Singapore.
15 Limitations and Challenges
• Fierce Competition
Royal Jordanian is currently the dominant airline for domestic flights, despite the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission’s efforts to mobilize free competition. On the regional level, RJ faces enormous competitive pressure from the low cost regional and international operators. The Emirates airlines, Qatar Airlines, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Etihad Airways among others are actively buying new aircrafts to expand their operations in the region, economies of scale has worked in their favor allowing for competitive prices since they enjoy 20% less fuel costs and 39% less departure, waiting, and landing fees in the gulf.
• Fuel Prices
Fuel prices is a crucial issue faced by all transport operators. Aviation fuel prices displayed a sharp upward trend throughout the last four years, in 2005 Royal Jordanian used to pay 190 Fils per liter versus a rate of 835 files per liter fuel in2 008, for unscheduled flights charges rate reached 855 Files per liter of fuel in 2008 compared to 320 Fils per liter in 2003 while foreign airlines were charged 290 Fils in 2003 compared to 840 Files for every liter of fuel.
As of October, 2008, fuel prices declined as a response to the global downward movement of oil prices to reach 548 Fils per liter for local airlines, 553 Fils for foreign airlines and 568 Fils per liter unscheduled flights charges.
Despite the fact that Royal Jordanian encountered losses generated from engagement in derivatives as a hedging mean from increasing oil prices, the slide in oil prices should serve in its interest in the next period.
16 Transportation Sector
Land Transportation
A- Public Transportation Private vehicles are the default mean utilized for personal transportation, however, there are certain situations commonly found in high density societies where such method is neither affordable nor practical and which raises the attractiveness of public means of transportation that generally encompass all common carriers that provide scheduled service on fixed routes. The importance of public transportation is widely acknowledged in leading countries around the world that put out public transportation as a major field of investment.
Public means of transportation’s significance arise from a number of reasons of which capacity as opposed to private vehicles reign the list. Accordingly, drivers must acquire a special license as exposure to accidents could mean higher rate of fatality.
The Configuration of Public Transportation The configuration of the transportation system in Jordan is basic; there are the main, secondary and rural roadways that comprise the road systems in Jordan. Highways in West Amman are further subdivided into local streets, collectors, Arterials, Freeways and Expressways; on the city level, the road way system is maintained by the ministry of transport, while the supervision of Amman’s intra-road system lies under the governance of The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM). the development that took place on all types of roads extended over a network that grew from 3,108 Km in 2003 to reach 3,440 Km in 2007 with Ma’an city accounting for the highest number of roads in the country, such growth was quite anticipated since the number of automobiles are growing in number; the number of vehicles running in Amman grew by 60.14% vehicle between 2003 to 2007 settling at 446,067 in 2007 compared to 397,013 in 2003. As for public transportation, Jordan’s system is made out of mini buses, taxis, service taxis and buses that move between cities in addition to the upcoming form expected to be launched soon; the dial up taxi.
Public Transport Vehicles Operating on the Internal Routes During the Period (2006-2007)
4000 3,688 3,673 3500 2,954 3000 2,931 Buses 2500 Mini Buses 2000 Service Taxis 1500 1000
500 322 280 0 2007 2006 Source: Ministry of Transport
The number of public vehicles including buses, mini buses, and service taxis has increased to 6,964 vehicle in 2007 compared to 6,884 vehicle registered in 2006. Amman had the lion share of total buses with 76.71% covering the capital compared to 79.29% in 2006; such a decline indicates better coverage in 2007 pertaining to the rest of the kingdom.
Irbid on the other hand, held the biggest weight of mini buses reaching 27.83% in 2007 while Amman accounted for 18.35% in the same year. This could be attributed to the considerable number of students and workers commuting between Amman and Irbid.
17 The following table illustrates the number of vehicles operating in Jordan classified upon main regions:
Buses Mini buses Service Taxis City 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 Capital 247 222 542 549 3,219 3,209 Balqa 16 6 262 216 19 18 Madaba 1 1 99 94 61 59 Zarqa 2 1 521 517 96 96 Ajloun 2 3 57 56 1 1 Irbid 20 18 822 816 246 244 Mafraq 12 12 188 185 25 25 Jerash 1 1 72 68 11 11 Kerak 0 0 255 254 2 2 Tafileh 0 0 79 79 0 0 Ma’an 15 13 42 41 2 2 Aqaba 7 3 15 56 6 6 Total 322 280 2,954 2,931 3,688 3,673 Source: Ministry of Transport
The Public Transport Regulatory Commission is the authorized entity to oversee the public transportation sector. Since its establishment in 2001, The Public Transport Regulatory Commission takes on developing and supervising the public transport sector as its objectives revolve around elevating the quality of the public transport services through enforcing the standards of conduct that guarantee public safety at suitable cost and encouraging fair competition through resisting monopoly, in addition to participation in the environment protection in cooperation with relevant institutions.
Dial up Taxi Services: the New Public Transportation Participant In November 2007, Jordan Kuwait Noor financial Investment Company was granted the tender for sponsoring a new dial up taxi project by the Public Transport Regulatory Commission.
The service includes a sophisticated form of cabs equipped with all means of technology based facilities including advanced forms of communication, cash and other card based payment methods and most importantly; the navigation system to guide passengers and drivers to requested destinations. The related taxi offices will be connected to the Commission through the GPS Box Technology and so will all the underlying vehicles.
The commission is planning to launch 240 vehicles out of 400 within December, 2008 and is expected to coordinate with Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) for parking areas designated for these cabs. Those new vehicles will be assigned a distinguished sliver color and will enjoy a higher than normal charge; the commission specified the opening tariff to be 600 Fils and a distance charge of 10 Fils per every 50 meters, the free toll numbers will be advertised in areas that calls for such service like hotels, malls, hospitals and tourism related locations.
Greater Amman Municipality - GAM The shaping of Amman city infrastructure was initiated by The Greater Amman Municipality with its engagement in upgrading the structure and traffic conditions on major arteries. Improving traffic movement throughout the City is one of GAM’s main goals; its efforts have been translated with the below projects standing as testimonials:
18 Transportation Sector
• Abdoun Bridge: This unique Jordanian bridge that links the eastern with the western side of Amman is the first and only cable- stayed bridge in Amman and is part of Amman’s Beltway (Ring Road). The main objective of the bridge is to decrease the traffic load between those two areas and which starts at the Fourth Circle and extends over Wadi Abdoun to Abdoun Circle.
• Raghadan Central Bus Station (RCBS) Project: This JD 7 million project started to operate at the beginning of 2007 and was financed through a loan granted from (Japan International Corporation JICA- Japan) as a part of the developmental initiatives targeting the downtown region, it encompasses all supportive delegates from Public Transport Regulatory Commission, Ministry of Tourism, Public Security Directorate among others, such station has a critical role in organizing service taxis movements as a departures / destination point.
• Jordan Street: Jordan street is one of the most important projects that left a significant effect on the traffic in Amman .The Street is articulated as an alternative route for University Street main road and it facilitates getting to Amman’s focal areas in an efficient manner, the main characteristic of this street is its smooth network that has no intersections. As a freeway, The Street links Amman with the north without the need to go through the regular routes.
The Municipality has put a master transportation plan in late 2007 for the city of Amman that covers the city’s infrastructure up to 2010 and divided this initiative into 4 phases:
• Phase I: The first phase concentrates on identifying the most suitable locations for high rise buildings. Target areas were selected based on several criterion including remoteness from residential spots, consistency with the surroundings and ease of accessibility. Four areas were selected located in Wadi Abdoun area, Jebeha in parallel to Jordan Street, South Amman, and Abdali.
• Phase II: The second phase determines the appropriate uses and heights of buildings, the plan is to develop multi purpose buildings with different heights and support the surrounding areas with well developed network of streets with secured sidewalks and green areas.
• Phase III: Identify the suitable locations for industrial zones; such initiative is curial to fuel the economic infrastructure in general and to avoid any overlaps between residential and industrial areas in specific. Zones will be located based on their growth potentials and their distance from residential spots which should be reasonable enough for easy access and distant enough to protect the environment and the national heritage. The municipality selected Sahab and Qastal as the major two locations for industrial rehabilitation initiatives.
• Phase VI: This phase covers two elements; residential projects for low density spots and the airport road development plan. Low density areas are witnessing a significant demand pressure on residential projects, accordingly, the municipality aims through this plan to restrain any random growth that would take place as a result of such pressure. Airport road development plan include 5 dynamic spots along the road.
GAM has put in motion a developmental plan for the public transportation sector; anticipated to be completed by 2025. The Municipality’s long term planning scheme aims at nurturing public transportation with projects that will definitely change the current infrastructure. This includes adding metros and electricity-driven passenger buses, among others. The substantial growth rate in on-street vehicles in Jordan, which reached an annual average of about 20% over the last five year, raises concerns about the efficiency of public transportation in the country, as this rate is considered to be one of the highest in the world. As a result, well targeted endeavors will be devoted to developing public transportation, such that Jordanian citizens will start to witness the positive changes by 2012, when the first phase of the metro project is expected to be in place.
19 The Municipality has announced its supporting plans for the sector in the coming year 2009; JD 8 million will be allocated to fuel the sector’s developmental projects, as the municipality is arranging to offer more projects to upgrade the public transportation network by April of 2009.
GAM is set to adopt the Amman Rapid Transit plan that is broken down into two phases to be completed by 2015 with an estimated budget of JD 1.695 billion. The project’s infrastructure is to be financed by public money including a loan acquired from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Project aims at decreasing congestion, increasing parking spaces, and facilitating movement by decreasing time consumed. The transportation corridors will utilize both Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Phase one is targeting 2013 for its completion and will include 20 Km of LRT and 32 Km of BRT while phase two extends through 2015 and includes 22 Km of LRT and 21 Km of BRT
Major challenges for the Public Transportation Public transportation faces a number of challenges; non sufficient private sector participation as mentioned earlier, high load of vehicles on Amman roads which contributed to an accelerated number of accidents, rising prices of fuel and overlapping routes due to the low level of coordination across public transportation are among the most important ones
• Low Level of Coordination Lack of sufficient coordination might be an explicit problem that the sector encounters. The following is an example of the case:
• No clear schedule, designated stops or even stable operating routes for public minibuses • Change of underlying (and temporary) routes by some service operators without any notices, overlapping other routes and causing delays. This is sought when operators find their assigned routes unprofitable.
The above has been participating in the ill trust and undependable sentiment towards public transportation.
The Public Transport Regulatory Commission is working on restructuring the transportation network by including new points of departures and reconsidering the length of a single trip in a way that will contribute in overcoming the problem of routes- overlaps in a trial to encourage more citizens to undertake public transportation. The commission is planning to consolidate the unprofitable routes to reach an efficiently utilized network of public transportation; field studies related to current routs have already been conducted in order to carry out the modifications at a later stage.
• Fuel Prices The US dollar depreciated to historical levels contributing to non preceded oil price levels which crossed the level of US$140 per barrel by June of 2008, this lead to global prices’ hike and imported inflation.
With a pegged currency and subsidies lifted, Jordan economy suffered from a leaping inflation in2 007; latest figures show unprecedented rates of inflation changes reaching about 15.6% for the first 10 months of 2008.
As a result of the government decision to float fuel and oil derivative prices which were taken up by more than 100%, transportation and transportation cost developed into a significant matter addressed on the national level by the public and governmental bodies.
As the floating decision came into effect, fuel prices displayed an accelerated trend, regular gasoline - unleaded 90 reached 705 Fils / liter in June 2008 while it stood at 585 Fils / liter in March 11th ; 20.51% increase in a matter of 3 months. The same applies for Diesel (the energy type deployed for buses and mini buses) as its prices accelerated by 17.5% during the same period reaching 705 Fils / Liter in June 2008.
Total consumption has grown in the past three years to reach 5,026.9 Tons of Oil Equivalent (TOE) in 2007 compared to TOE 4,802.2 in 20 2003, transport sector still occupy about 37% to 38% of total energy consumption as the following diagram displays. Transportation Sector
In 1000 TOE
2007 1912.1 5026.9
2006 1822 4889
2005 1778.9 4802.2
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Transport Sector Consumption of Energy Total Energy Consumption
Source: Ministry of Finance
In public transportation, fuel prices are a momentous issue that brings out significant concern to service providers. Fuel prices has been displaying an ascending trend across the first 7 months of 2008 , taxi’s tariff for example increased by more than 60% reaching JD 0.25 up from JD 0.15
Nevertheless, fuel prices witnessed a significant drop affected by the world financial crisis; prices of the three main groups of fuel (Gasoline, Kerosene and Diesel) declined by 41% since August 2008 with further reductions already took place. Consequently, the ministry has reduced public transportation prices by 5% starting December 17th on all vehicles than run on diesel and fuel except for taxies located in Amman.
• Accidents Road network has grown in a manner inconsistent with the growth in registered vehicles number; thus, accidents’ possible occurrence has been parallel and positively linked.
In 2007 Jordan witnessed a number of 110,630 accidents with an average of 303.1 accidents per day and an average of 2.7 deaths per day.
The Central Traffic Directorate has put strategies that direct its efforts for an effective handling of traffic in order to increase the chances for an enhanced roads safety. Such efforts started to payoff as accidents levels have declined between the periods elapsing between May 2007 and May 2008 despite the ascending trend of accidents through out the last couple of years.
Accident Statistics, May 2007-2008 Accidents Statistics - Annual Base
45000 120,000 40000 100,000 35000
30000 80,000 25000 Deaths Human Damage 60,000 20000 Material Damage 15000 Total 40,000 10000 20,000 5000
0 0 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Source: Central Traffic Doctorate Source: Public Security Directorate 21 In 2007, there were 43,823 public vehicles involved in traffic accidents; which represents a percentage of 61.54% of the total registered public vehicles in Jordan. 51.04% of registered buses were involved in traffic accidents while4 9.53% of the 7,744 registered mini buses contributed to the total number of accidents in the country despite that they accounted for a relatively small number of traffic violations recording 148,798 out of 1,362,518 traffic violations recorded in 2007. On the macro level, the number of accidents in 2007 reached 110,630 accidents of which 5,474 were among public transportation vehicles.
B- Freight Land Transport The government of Jordan devoted considerable efforts to develop freight land transportation through investing in road network in addition to allowing external companies to transit consignment to Arab countries through its land.
30 new licensed companies were registered in 2007 to bring the total number of companies up to 196. The accumulated capital invested in freight transportation increased by 2% by the end of October 2007 to reach JD125,101,057 with the container transport holding the highest stake among all other transport freight specialty.
In September 2008, the Cabinet of Ministers agreed on the inclusion of freight land transport sector under the umbrella of the Investment Promotion Law in a retroactive manner. The cabinet had endorsed its approval back in 2004 but no practical execution took place since then. Four months prior to the approval, a committee comprised of the Ministry of Transport, Income and Sales Tax Department and Jordan Investment Board passed a recommendation to the cabinet to exempt specialized transport trucks from fees, customs and sales tax. Some conditions to such exemptions were applied including the following: • Trucks to be imported within three years of the Investment Incentive Committee’s approval date • Trucks should not be more than one year old including the year of manufacturing • Transportation companies’ employment of Jordanians shouldn’t be less than 75%
The Registered Capital of The Licensed Transport Companies According To The Transport Specialty Specialty Registered Capital (JD) Percentage % Crude Oil Transport 69,296,057 21.8 Cars Transport 18,350,000 5.8 Heavy Duty Transport 11,000,000 3.5 Fridge Transport 14,950,000 4.7 General Cargo Transport 82,156,057 25.8 Cattle transport 13,000,000 4.1 Plant Oil Transport 17,850,000 5.6 Container Transport 91,471,057 28.8 Source: the Ministry of Transport
Many Jordanian companies engage in land freight business as their number reached up to 196 companies, the below two posses a joint ownership with the ministry: • The Iraqi Jordanian Land Transport Co: Established in 1980 with a capital of US$ 50 million. Its main objective is to perform all activities related to cargo, passenger transportation, marine agencies and clearance.
• Jordan Syrian Land Transport Company: Established in 1975 with a capital of 8 million. Its main objective is to provide all types of transport services via a regional network between Jordan, Syria and Lebanon with a fleet consisting of about 326 vehicles with plans to increase this number.
22 Transportation Sector
The Ministry of Transport Initiatives • Analytical Study: The ministry with the cooperation of an international consultant is conducting a study on freight sector in order to establish an independent road freight regulator. The 84 days study includes a review on the existent laws including the amendments, regulations, and instructions related to road fight and its relevant services, assessing the impact of deregulating (liberalization of the road transport) and proposing a scenario for the establishment of an institutional frame.
• Amman Inland Port and Costumes Project: The project is within Amman Development Corridor. In order to exploit the unprecedented development in the filed of logistics, MoT has acquired 5,000 Acres of which 4,000 Acers were allocated to the new inland port and 1,000 Acers to the new customs depot.
• Multimodal International Transport Law: Transporting through different channels creates legal dilemma due to the Vagueness in roles and responsibilities of different parties, as a result, a new step was taken by MoT with assistance of Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to finish the final draft of Multimodal International Transport Law, such law will provide an integrative approach of all other legislations related to other modes. The objectives behind this law are to rehabilitate and develop Jordan Transport forwarders by improving their competitiveness to eventually contribute to the Jordan transport sector on the regional and international level.
Geographic Information System -GIS GIS is a technological application that seeks to choose the most efficient route to undertake, it also provides a direct support for the national geographic information system. Being comprised of hardware and software tool for storage, maintenance, manipulation, analysis, mapping and dissemination of geographic information, the software brings dispersed data into a unified system to reach to meaningful geographic information that policy makers can base their decision upon. The GIS applications can be extremely useful in the fields of assets utilization, scientific investigation, and tourism location maintenance.
In May 2007, the Department of Antiques (DoA) announced the deployment of GIS in managing the thousands of archaeological sites in Jordan through an agreement with Conservation Institute and the World Monuments Fund (WMF) to assure the use of topographic map reading and the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to locate sites that are defined as (critical) ones. The implementation already took place earlier this year as the installation and data collection and processing already kicked off in DoA offices.
23 Maritime Transportation
Jordan has a sea access from its south through the city of Aqaba, the sea contributed heavily to Aqaba’s economic success as it is a vital element in international tourism in addition to its economic benefit of being a free economic zone. As a result, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) devoted notable efforts to assure that the city enjoys a good deal of economic, social and political stability as a center for tourism and transportation.
The Aqaba Port The 500,000 m2 port of Aqaba which is located on the north shore of the Gulf of Aqaba is the sea logistical gate for the kingdom. On an intersection point with four countries and two continents lifted the port’s role in facilitating international transit especially in the ancient biblical civilization. The port was developed in 1950 and did not witness any radical development until the 1960s when potash terminals were added along with phosphate and other fertilizers. Currently, the port includes three cargo handling areas: the main port, the industrial port and the container port where general, containerized and specialized cargos are facilitated. In addition to passenger’s terminals, the port accommodates different types of ships including dry bulk vessels of 75,000 Dead Weight Tons and large vessels up to 18m draft and a maximum length of 540 meters.
Aqaba Port Arrivals & Departures
800.000
700.000
600.000
500.000
400.000
300.000
200.000
100.000
0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008
Arrivals 318,649 434,295 44,772 674,300 581,263
Departures 358,967 445,239 473,950 701,111 623,299
Source: the Ministry of Transport
Handling of Jordanian Goods & Trasit Movement Via Aqaba Port 2007 Handling
2% 25,000,000
Transit Goods 20,000,000 Jordanian Goods 15,000,000 Total Of Handling
10,000,000
5,000,000 Transit Goods 0 Jordanian Goods 98% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 July
Source: the Ministry of Transport 24 Transportation Sector
• Arrivals The Aqaba Sea Port witnessed some decline in arrivals and departures in 2007 which broke a 4 year chain of advancement. The total number of arrivals decreased by 13.80% to reach 581,263 passengers in 2007 compared to 674,300 passengers in 2006, total departures declined as well by almost the same percentage of 12.48% reaching 623,299 passengers in 2007.
• Material Handling Total volume of handling has increased between 2006 and 2007 by 3.66% as it reached 17,792,450 tons in 2007 compared to 17,164,854 tons in 2006, such augmentation was accompanied by an increase in the number of ships that stood at 2,941 vessels in 2007 compared to 2,884 vessels in 2006.
Jordanian goods account for 98% of total handling while the remaining 2% represent good in-transit, which recorded 386,683 tons in 2007 with Iraq topping the country list with a value of 144,536 tons and followed by KSA with a total handling of 133,366 Tons for the same year.
Phosphate and potash stand as the main exports through the port of Aqaba. Despite the fact that phosphate exports recorded 10.76% enhancement in 2007 when it reached 3,604,329 tons, it is still below its 2005’s levels that hit the value of 4,006,311 tons, nevertheless, phosphate accounts for 48.09% of the port’s total exports, while Potash exports reached 1,573,560 tons registering a positive 14.66% movement for the first time in three years but remaining below 2003’s export level which recorded 1,932,030 tons.
The declining trend continued to include the first seven months of2 008 as figures uncovered negative changes in the level of imports and exports executed through the port of Aqaba. Numbers revealed a decline in the imported goods via the port by 3% to reach 5.2 million tons over the first seven months of2 008 compared to 5.4 million tons registered during the same period in 2007. Export also registered a periodic decline from 4.6 million tons by July 2007 to 4.4 million tons by the end of July 2008. Nevertheless, handling witnessed started to witness some enhancement as it increased by 34.8% based on 8 months data; the Iraqi trading activity and local market growth levered the transit movement of goods.
Types of good exported via Aqaba Port during the period (2003-2007) in Tons Year Fertilizers Phosphate Potash Cement Re-Export Containers 2003 993,815 3,671,570 1,932,030 116,724 16 3,489 2004 1,159,243 4,665,955 1,760,970 - 1,407 796,072 2005 1,060,636 4,006,311 1,570,580 - 1,246 889,322 2006 1,157,822 3,254,305 1,372,415 - 12,459 - 2007 1,055,250 3,604,329 1,573,560 - 11,198 - Source: Ministry of Transport
Types of goods imported via Aqaba port during the period (2003-2007) in Tons Year Gas Steel Automobiles Fertilizer Wood Sugar 2003 157,962 142,975 227,627 6815 150,018 160,682 2004 179,034 1,653 11,152,098 5,070 1,653 11,152,098 2005 226,479 1,918 11,613,478 6,739 1,918 11,613,478 2006 173,781 617 9,489,770 6,687 617 9,489,770 2007 233,295 137 9,910,739 808 137 9,910,739 Source: Ministry of Transport
25 The port faces delay in containers’ uploads into trucks in addition to the subsequent delay in checking and inspections. This issue prevails greatly with simultaneous vessel arrival which brings out confusion and disorder at the port’s handling point. Aqaba Container Terminal took this into account and is planning to renew its mechanism in uploading to decrease the pressure.
Aqaba Container Terminal revealed a new navigation route that will cover North America after signing an agreement with the giant Danish shipping line “Maersk”. This initiative will mobilize the economic wheel and reinforce Jordan’s global existence as vessels will carry Jordanian exports to the USA and will enjoy worldwide standard of services.
Jordan Maritime Authority - JMA Jordan Maritime Authority was established in 2002 in Aqaba as an independent entity that directly follow the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport. The authority’s main focus is to supervise the maritime sector and monitor the enforcement of the safety and security standards within Jordanian territorial waters. The authority has legal supervision over regulatory issues like registration, insurance of certificates for Jordanian ships and enjoys the authority over Aqaba Port Department as set by the current law of Commercial Maritime. Registration of ships under the Jordanian flag brings many advantages to beneficiaries; high level of communication and a 24/7 services can be delivered for those registered ships, in addition those ships will enjoy a 10% discount on berthing fees collected by the Port of Aqaba and total exemption from customs fees.
JMA has a facilitating role in the implementation of the National Strategy for Maritime Sector in Jordan. The authority participates in the development process of relevant legislations and plays a role in supporting maritime education though establishing maritime institutes. JMA also enforces the use of IT to set the path for a national wide maritime databank as well as encouraging the collaboration with private sector and international maritime community.
Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) Aqaba Development Corporation was established in 2004 by Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and the government. A key objective of the corporation is to maximize the potentials of Aqaba as a business and logistical hub through the best in class commercial practices, the corporation- which owns the city’s airport and the Aqaba port - facilitate its developmental goals through attracting private investors into the zone by engaging into public-private-partnerships.
ADC singed a Joint Venture agreement with APM Terminals, one of the world’s leading terminal operators, to undertake the management, operations, and expansion of the Aqaba Container Terminal for a 25 year-period in order to achieve additional capacity and to improve operational efficiency through three-phase development program that consists of a combination of physical expansion, equipment acquisitions and operational improvements.
This joint venture was triggered as an extension to a prior management agreement between the two that was deemed as highly successful and resulted in a major upgrade of the port; vessels now arrive on guaranteed berthing windows which enhanced the un-loading process.
Among other factors that fueled the port’s development was employees’ performance excellence as training and development programs took place. Such improvements enhanced the capabilities of Aqaba Port as an international trade player; Lloyd’s has nominated Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) in 2005 as one of the three top container terminals in the Arab region and Indian subcontinent.
26 Transportation Sector
Joint Transport Companies • Jordanian Syrian Shipping Transport Company Established in 1976 with USD 1.96 million as a joint venture between Jordan and Syria, the company is specialized in transporting goods between Syria and its surrounding area across the sea through the two vessels (Barada and Yarmouk). In 2007 109,000 Tons of goods were transported compared to 96,950 Tons in 2003.
• Arab Bridge Maritime Company(ABM) A joint venture between Jordan, Egypt, Iraq incepted in 1985 with a paid up capital of US$ 40 Million, the company was entitled the exclusivity of (Aqaba- Nuide’ ferry service line ) by the governments of Egypt and Jordan to carry passengers, goods and vehicles of all types.
In 2007 the company was able to conduct 38,000 trips through which 20 million passengers, 500 thousand trailers and more than one million cars and buses flowed.
The company owns 5 vessels and its plans for this year are to purchase more, in addition the company is planning to establish new offices & attract new agents in other countries.
27 Railways
Railways were always considered a sophisticated mean of transporting goods and passengers. The history of rail transportation in its basic form goes back to more than 500 years despite the fact that there is some evidence showing that rail was known in ancient Greece about 600 BC where long wagonways were used to transport boats. Railways witnessed some development in the 1500s in Germany when wagonways were utilized to transport ore and other production factors from one place to another. Moving into the 1800s and the industrial revolution in Europe, the first public railway was the Surrey Iron Railway which appeared in 1803 in London. The modern version of rails didn’t prevail before 1820s when steam trains appeared and dominated rail transportation for the next 100 years.
The extensive underground railways (Subway) became widely spread in the late 1800s after the electricity revolution emerged in large cities like New York and London. In addition, Paris built a subway system to transport passengers that sustained till mid 20th century when the high level of population’s density gave birth to the “light rail” systems.
By the 1970s, diesel and electric power had replaced steam power on most of the world’s railroads until high speed rail system was introduced in beginning of the 21st century and became the dominant railway means of transportation. Today railways stand as a major form of public transport in many countries despite the advancement in the air aviation sector. In India, China, South Korea and Japan, for example, millions use trains as the daily transportation method. Same thing applies around Europe and the United States.
Railway in Jordan Due to poor developmental initiatives in the railway sector, such means of transportation is rarely used in Jordan. Railway route is not fully utilized and receives the least attention despite its existence that goes back to the 1900’s when Hijazi Line was launched to link Syria and Al Medina in KSA passing though Jordan. Moreover, Jordan has a southern railway that’s integrated with Hijazi Lines from the south. It is operated by Aqaba Railway Corporation.
Amman – Zarqa Light Rail Project In 2005, the government of Jordan announced its intention of building a 28 Km long railway connecting Amman with Zarqa. The project is designed to alleviate traffic on the main highway between the two cities in order to reduce accidents rate and to introduce an environment-friendly Transportation System. The project comprises the following three stages;
• Stage one: New Zarqa to Amman • Stage two: Raghadan to the new city Hall • Stage three: Raghadan (CBD) to Swaileh through Abdali and Jordan University In 2007, a consortium of Pakistani, Chinese and Jordanian companies, has been awarded the contract to construct the railway. However, later in March 2008, the contract was terminated because the consortium failed to comply with the implementation agreement.
In June 2008, the government re-offered the tender to a Kuwaiti-Spanish consortium. The tender was granted based on a BOT system (Building, Operating and Transferring System) with a budget of JOD 236 million. Further signals of delay continued as the consortium passed a request for deadline extension as some funding parties (including the World Bank) requested additional time for studying the project, causing further difficulties to meet the old deadline.
The project hasn’t been given any starting signal yet and no radical changes took place on its status up till the issuance of this report.
28 Transportation Sector
Jordan Railway Master Plan Project In 2007, The Ministry of Transport awarded the light Rail System tender to an international consortium to bring the vision of connecting Jordan with its neighboring countries (KSA, Syria, and Iraq) into reality. The new rail system will be articulated in cooperation with the Kuwaiti firms Al Madar Finance & Investment and Al Aqeelah Finance Leasing & Investment.
The implementation of the 1,068 Km long railway project that links the major cities and economic centers from north to south and with neighboring counties is underway. Total cost of the project is about JD 4.3 billion and is expected to be completed by the year 2011 and with duration of 31 months
Major Local companies have shown their explicit interest in the project. Jordan Phosphate Mines and Jordan Petroleum Refinery initially declared their interest to be active figures in the project; the two companies are seeking the opportunity to exploit the railway mode to connect their production facilities with their logistical hubs since such mode will bring about transport related cost efficacy.
The Master Plan consists of two lines, the north-south line from the Syrian border to Aqaba passing through Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman and Maan, and the east-west line extending from the Iraqi to Saudi borders passing through Mafraq, Irbid and Azraq. The government is looking for a financing party to carry on the project as it allocated JD3 50 million to expropriate land located along the planned 1,080 Km path of the railway . The cabinet decided to form a ministerial steering committee led by the transport minister to follow up on the implementation of the project.
It was announced earlier in 2008 that there are plans to expatiate land along the side of the prospected railway; while such decision was retreated in the middle of the claims to change the railway designed path so as not to jeopardize the operations of some factories that happened to be located in a manner that may interfere with the planned path.
The government, represented by the MoT, has already begun the procedures to hire an international consultant to overlook the sound implementation of the project on all of its fronts; including the project’s financial, legal and technical aspects. The hired firm is expected to start providing its services by February 2009, and will continue to do so for approximately 15 months.
Privatization of Aqaba Railway Corporation The privatization of Aqaba Railway Corporation is yet another project the ministry is planning to pursue. Following the Cabinet of Ministers’ decision, the ministry will undertake the privatization of Aqaba Railway Corporation on two stages; stage one is concerned with the restructuring of the corporation into a public shareholding company whose asset’s to be owned by the government through Aqaba Railway Operating Company except for railways lines which will be owned by the ministry of finance. Stage two will assure that the privatization will take place through introducing a strategic partner to buy government’s share though an international bidding process.
Corporations and Departments Affiliated with the Ministry • Aqaba Railway Corporation (ARC) This corporation is mainly concerned with transporting phosphate rocks from mines to Aqaba port. Plans to transport goods from the port to land (the opposite direction of the current situation) are also being considered.
The corporation realized JD 10,076,775 in 2007 from transporting 2,273,034 Tons of phosphate. As for the major recent achievements, the corporation rebuilt 4 locomotives and 75 wagons with a cost of JD 4.929 million and JD 1 Million respectively, in addition to maintaining all railway stations, train drivers residence, fixing new lighting posts in stations of Ma’an, Hasa, Rum, and Desi, and marinating spare parts stores.
• Jordan Hejaz Railway Corporation (JHR) JHR operates according to fixed departure dates between Amman and Damascus while prior reserved trips service is also an option especially for students between Qatrana and Mafraq and for tourists between Qatrana and Dera’s station. For such trips, each train carries 350 passengers. 29 Activity indicators show a general declining trend. Number of passengers in trips decreased from 9,373 passengers in 2003 to 8,042 in 2007 (school students and tourism). The same applies for goods movement as 112,637 Tons / Km were transported in 2007 declining from 1,784,328 Tons/ Km achieved in 2003. The number of trains between Amman and Damascus went down to reach only 2 trains in 2007 compared to 204 trains in 2003, such facts enforce the notion that railways were losing domestic attention during the past 5 years.
Description 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Tons/ Km 1,784,328 1,674,296 1,147,200 132,965 112,637 No. of Trains Between 204 trains 204 trains 202 trains 66 trains 2 trains Amman & Damascus Round Trips (Passengers) 9,198 2,571 2,479 239 50 Source: Ministry of Transport
Despite the low demand on railways, the corporation is pursuing further expansion as there are plans to allocate the needed funds to the repair of the old steam locomotives and provide the necessary training for the staff. Other upcoming initiatives are to extend a sub-railway line to reach Juwaida, the corporation is into preparing a feasibility study concerning transport supplement to Phosphate Company’s location.
Pipeline
Although the discussion of pipelines does not lie in the core of transportation, it is considered to be a related topic in such area for two reasons; it involves transporting critical substances across nations and second it underlies political dimensions.
Arab Gas Pipeline The Arab Gas Line is installed to export the national gas produced in Egypt to the Middle East, including Syria, Jordan, turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. Jordan’s intersection points include Syria and Egypt
Currently, Jordan is looking forward to be fueled by Egyptian gas through this pipeline as a three phase infrastructure project has been completed. The kingdom has signed a contact with an Egyptian consortium to install a pipeline back in 2001 to provide natural Gas derived from Al- Arish, Egypt. Local industries are awaiting government approval to substitute the traditional fueling oil with the Egyptian Gas through Fajr Egyptian-Jordanian Company in an attempt to lower the cost of energy consumption.
Iraq- Jordan Anticipated Cooperation Jordan is aiming to construct of a Pipeline with Iraq. Earlier in 2008, the Iraqi finance minister unveiled plans to supply Jordan with natural gas from Ikaz field near Iraqi Border, the pipeline will be integrated with the Arab pipeline to facilitate exporting gas to Europe and Jordan, where oil is to be supplied through that pipeline with an expected capacity of 100,000 to 200,000 Barrel per day.
30 Transportation Sector
Other Aspects of Transportation; Logistics
Logistics: Courier Services Sector The introduction of courier services came as a notable development in the world of transportation as it provides secured and speedy deliveries, the three main services offered by the courier service companies are:
• Supply Chain Management: Conduct of business can be highly facilitated by providing the support for a proper articulation of supply chain management; companies that provide logistical services are a solid media for business entities to communicate with their relevant parties and operate business cycle more effectively.
• Express Deliveries: Courier companies offer the service of express delivery of packages including transfer of documents, parcels and small packages around the globe whether it was business or personal related through their all-mean types fleets.
• Freight: Shipment of large item has its share in courier business throughout the world; courier companies normally do not own the transporting vehicle but act as an intermediating agent. In Jordan logistics are handled through many leading global companies in addition to Jordan Post Company. Aramex, UPS, DHL, FedEx and the Public Warehousing Company (PWC) - Agility cover the national and international courier business of the kingdom.
• Aramex Aramex is a provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions. Established in 1982 as an express operator, the company rapidly transformed itself into a global brand recognized for its customized services and innovative multi-product offering.
Aramex’s network is spread across 200 major cities through 309 offices, logistics centers and express hubs operated by more than 7,500 dedicated employees. Aramex is a founding member and chairs the Global Distribution Alliance (GDA), which brings together over 40 leading express and logistics providers from around the world, each specializing in their own region and together covering the world with the same, unified quality standards and technology of Aramex. Traded on the NASDAQ from 1997 to 2002, Aramex today is a publicly traded company on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM: ARMX.) Aramex announced its 2008 third quarter results reporting net profits increasing by 31% to AED 33.9 million, from AED 26 million for the same period in 2007, and revenues registering a 21% increase, from AED 451.7 million to AED 545.7 million. Revenues for the first nine months of2 008 climbed by 23% to AED 1,579.5 million, from AED 1,289 million over the same period in 2007, while net profits rose by 21% to AED 108.5 million, from AED 89.4 million.
• DHL DHL (originally standing for Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a German postal Company that is owned by the Deutsche Post AG. DHL started its operations in 1969 from the USA and currently operates in more than 220 counties in the world offering international express, overland transport and air & sea freight through a team of 300,000 employees in 2008. DHL has its own cargo airlines which enforced its ability to offer freight and package shipping service worldwide. In 2007 the company became the first to deploy wind powered ships (ships that are partially powered by a giant computer controlled kite) to transport cargo.
New Trend in Logistics The economic world is changing everyday enforcing businesses to change accordingly, the interconnections within supply chains and supply networks are getting more complicated raising the need for a unifying protocol. i.e. universal logistical systems that is compatible with the underlying business systems of all intermediating participants from upstream suppliers to downstream customer. Although local providers do offer e-services and utilize the internet in their activities for an effective reach and follow up, the world is running at a faster pace and moving towards total supply chain integration and business communities management; logistical systems that are highly compatible with any sort of system that the client uses and the courier adopts. In order to be able to achieve such objectives, sophisticated technology demonstrated by IT solutions used to unify the underlying information system for both entities to realize compatibility. This 31 movement adds a new challenge for local courier service providers and local business in general. Key Players
Jordan Aviation Airlines (JATE) Jordan Aviation Airlines is a limited liability company founded in 1998 with a capital of JD 40 million and commenced its operations in the year 2000.
This privately owned Jordanian airline operates scheduled flights between Amman and Aqaba and across the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. JATE also provides leasing services to regional and international clients, which consist in providing fully operational airplanes, including crew and maintenance.
Since its establishment, JATE has been awarded the Jordanian Air Operating Certificate (AOC), has a membership in the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Arab Air Carriers organization (AACO). Additionally, JATE joined the leading Airlines in their safety and security commitment as it completed the Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) of the Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2006.
Arab Wings Arab Wings got into business in 1975 as a business jet subsidiary to Royal Jordanian; it provides chartered flights services and operates from Amman Marka International airport and Queen Alia International Airport
The company introduced and upgraded many services including ground handling facility, maintenance center, cloud seeding service, aircraft management, ambulance, priority cargo, and helicopter service. Arab Wings’ service package incorporates dinning services and complementary extras, it also facilitate flexible schedules to avoid cancellation, delays or crowded departures.
Along with business related services, Arab Wings offers emergency and non emergency patient transport worldwide while providing the needed medical services onboard.
The company holds the ISO 9002:1994 for quality assurance and a winner of the NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) safely award.
Royal Wings Airlines Another subsidiary of Royal Jordanian inaugurated in 1996 as a regional airline with a capital of JD 5 million. It connects Jordan to its neighboring areas like Tel Aviv, Al Arish, Sharm El Sheikh, Aleppo, Ankara, and Alexandria.
Royal Wings has received 14 certificates and awards including Jordanian Civil Aviation Authority Air Operating Certificate, ISO 9001, ERA Award of Excellence in Recognition, Civil Aviation Authority Repair Station Certificate and Commercial Business Flying Safety Award. In addition, Royal Wings is a member of Air Work Turbine Service Network, Professional Aviation Maintenance Association and a certified member in the IATA Ground Handling Council.
Kawar Group Kawar Group’s shipping business line has been engaging in maritime operations in Aqaba since 1955. Its major business theme concentrates on facilitating shipping, logistics, warehousing and distribution to different parts of the world. The company conducts maritime operations including liners, tramps, and bulk car carriers, offered services also include protecting agents, ship brokerage, and cargo survey.
In further expansion, the company established a forwarding arm named “KARGO” in 2004 that supports logistical and shipping -door to door- services to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon through international and local partnerships.
32 Transportation Sector
The Group encorporates other logistical leading entities like Amin Kawar and Sons, Red Sea Shipping, Aqaba Shipping Company, Manara Shipping, PIL Jordan, Gulf Agency Company, South Maritime Investments/ MAERSK Jordan.
Today the group is an active player in worldwide bodies like Multi-port Ship Agencies Network and the Shipping Agents Association and is the first ISO 9002-certified shipping agent in the Jordan.
National Shipping Services Co Ltd - NSSG Established in 1984 to provide a wide range of transportation solutions, the company acts as regional specialists through offices covering the Middle East region – namely Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq and owns a global transportation network supported by its international partners and affiliates.
NSSG offers a range of container/ shipping services including line services, chartering, brokerage, project cargo, freight forwarding and tramp Vessel husbanding through it branches and affiliates in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Affiliates include Ultra Maritime Services, Elite Maritime Agencies, Jordan P&I Consultants and Aqaba Consultants Office.
Jordan Express Tourist Transport Company - JETT JETT was established in 1964 as a limited liability company in Jerusalem, but was transformed into a public liability company with a paid up capital JD 300,000 two years later. In 1995 JETT relocated its main office to Amman and expanded its business inside and outside the kingdom of Jordan
The company’s business model focuses on transporting tourists’ groups to ancient ruins and tourism sites in Jordan based on a pre scheduled programs. The company also provides leasing services of buses for domestic tourism and for Hajj & Omra.
Jordan Express Tourist Transport Company holds a 99% ownership of Passenger Transportation Company. This limited liability subsidiary has a capital that reaches to one million Jordanian Dinars and mainly provides land transportation domestically and to neighboring countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria and Lebanon.
Despite the competition that the company is facing in the field of tourism-related transportation, JETT gripped 45.75% of the tourism transportation market in 2007, as its client base encompassed 182,208 tourists out of 398,266 tourists countrywide.
The company currently owns over 220 vehicles, and its H1 2008 results reveal operating profits of JD 1,513,271 compared to JD 407,397 the year before; a growth of more than 200%.
Jordan-Kuwait Noor Financial Investment Company This subsidiary of Noor Financial Investment Company targets Jordan as an investment spot. The Jordanian transportation and telecom sectors are the company’s major area of interest; Noor purchased 10% stake of Jordan Telecom (Orange) from the government for an amount of US 176 million and by July 2007 the company won the Public Transportation Regulatory Commission’s tender to be the exclusive runner of the dial up taxi services.
Noor Financial Investment Company jointed the Airport De Paris (ADP) consortium that won the Queen Alia International Airport project with a share of 24%. ADP started operating QAIA on November 16th 2007.
Worth mentioning is that by November 2008, the company’s accumulated investments in Jordan were estimated at USD 500 million. According to the company’s management, Noor will expand its investments in Jordan even further over the next couple of years, inline with the active flow of investments expected to target the Kingdom in general.
33 Sahara (Kirresh Tourism Transport) Since its establishment in 2006, Sahara has been offering a variety of transportation services, as its vehicles run along the common bus routes throughout Jordan to better serve the public, as well as conducting specialized tours according to season or upon request. Services offered include Airport Transportation, City Sightseeing & Local Tours. Last year, the company’s vehicle occupation rate reached its full capacity. This year, management predicts demand to exceed 100% of capacity by Hajj season, as the company won the tender to handle the transportation of pilgrims arriving from Palestine. Management plans to utilize 15 buses for this specific mission. Sahar’s fleet currently consists of 125 modern buses, of which 76 are large-sized tourist buses.
Kirresh Bus Rental Kirresh Bus Rental was established in 2003 to offer a diversified set of comprehensive transportation solution for groups of all sizes and Interests including corporation, large and small association, government and military agencies, schools, sports team and any social groups.
The company’s main offerings include the transportation of athletes during sport event and the transportation of students on school trips. Also, the company organizes Hajj and Omra trips. In addition to its local services, the company’s operations have expended into Syria and Lebanon.
Car Rental -OSCAR Oscar car rental occupies a significant share of car rental business in Jordan; the company was established in2 001 and today with its 135 vehicles it marked 3rd place among all operating car rental companies in the local market and grasps the position of number one among non agent rental companies.
Comprehensive Multiple Transportations Company -ABUS The company’s primarily activity is to offer general passenger transportation services within Jordan. It also invests in, and constructs bus stations on the routes that it operates.
The company became publicly listed in the year 2005 with a paid up capital of JD10 million, to raise its capital to JD 20 million in 2006. Further expansion took place in 2007 as the company signed a consortium agreement with the Investment Unit of the Social Security Corporation along with the Municipality of Greater Amman to operate 70% from the municipality’s public transportation buses.
In March of 2008, ABUS announced a JD 400,000 Turkish partnership aimed at the incorporation of the smart-card technology. Full adoption has not taken place yet but the company has already started to import devices and systems necessary to perform the electronic collection of transportation fees. Also, the company is currently in the process of equipping its buses in order to be able to implement the new technology.
In November, the municipality announced its intentions to sell its entire share in the company, which approximaets12%, satisfying the demands that ask for the separation of management and operations in order to organize and clarify the company’s decision making process.
Trust International Transport- TRTR Trust International Transport is a Jordanian-based public shareholding company that was established in 1996 with a capital of JD 3,455,200 to provide passenger transportation services locally. In 2007, and upon a decision that was passed by the company’s general assembly, total capital was reduced to JD 3,434,750 via a reverse stock split. The company enjoyed a high level of growth during the first half of 2008, as profits grew to reach JD 58,162, roughly 8 times more than it H1 2007 level, which was registered at JD 6,270. The company operates a fleet of 36 buses.
34 Transportation Sector
Financial Review
Transportation companies comprise a sector at Amman Stock Exchange labeled as «transportation» branched from the services sector, the accumulated activity of the 12 companies listed under this sector placed it on the 6th highest position (out of 23 sectors) in terms of value traded as it reached JD 623,773,600 and comprised 3.33% of the overall value traded of the exchange based on data of eleven months- period ending in November. Number of shares traded reached 223,111,260 shares representing 4.52% of the overall shares traded over the ASE placing it the 7th among other listed sectors, while the stock exchange executed 173,019 transactions over this sector, acquiring 4.77% of the total transactions executed over the exchange for the same period. Market capitalization that the transportation sector occupies is relatively small and takes up 1.29% of the total market capitalization based on the closing of 30th November 2008.
Ticker Vale Traded (JD) Ticker Number of Shares RJAL 432,863,101 RJAL 122,321,683 NAQL 82,900,040 NAQL 35,155,150 MSFT 28,201,743 MSFT 19,488,650 ABUS 19,231,321 FATI 12,282,398 Ticker Number of Transctions Ticker Market Cap* RJAL 84,239 RJAL 145,122,162 NAQL 25,338 SITT 24,684,000 MSFT 18,030 SHIP 24,391,500 FATI 13,305 JETT 23,004,000 * As of 30th November 2008.
Royal Jordanian stands as a sector leader in terms of Value traded, Number of Shares and transactions executed. RJ’s shares were listed through the biggest IPO in 2007.
RJ continued to seize a high portion of trading activity in 2008 as well as it occupying the biggest value traded of the sector with a portion of 69.39% of total Sector’s value traded as of November 2008. RJ’s shares represent 54.83% of all shares traded in the first eleven months of 2008 and grasped 48.69% of executed transactions for the same period. Such high demand on Royal Jordanian’s stock prevailed from the first day of listing on December 17th 2007 as the trading of 1,109 transactions drove the stock to close at JD 3.14, RJ came on the top of the gainers list in terms of stock price performance from its first week of trading advancing by 214%.
The Index The following diagram displays the transportation index behavior covering the period of the first 11 months of 2008 against the Amman Stock Exchange- free float index.
35 Maket Index Vs Transportation Index
6.000 6000
5.000 5000
4.000 4000
3.000 3000
2.000 2000
1.000 1000
0 0 General Transportation Correlation coefficient between the two indices reached 0.735 as of the eleven months ending in November 2008. The transportation index closed at 873.0 basis points at the end of November against 1,363.1 basis points quoted at the beginning of the year registering a 35.95% retreat, while the first six months alone recorded a progress of about 7.15% mainly attributed to June2 008’s performance, which recorded a 6.66% progress as a result of the historical ASE performance registered during that month. ASE free Float Index declined by 24.70% for the same period to close at 2767.2 basis points relative to 3,675.0 basis points at the beginning of the period.
Balance Sheet Financial Position Highlight - First Half 2008 Paid in Capital Total Assets Total Equity Company Name* Ticker 2007 H1, 2008 2007 H1, 2008 2007 H1, 2008 Salam International Transport & Trading SITT 13,200,000 13,200,000 39,286,127 59,448,997 23,645,379 27,656,336 Unified Transport & Logistics UNIF 6,511,057 6,511,057 17,673,753 15,298,459 7,838,794 7,636,968 Jordan Express Tourist Transport JETT 10,800,000 10,800,000 19,409,949 22,367,842 17,550,001 18,755,507 Transport& Investment Barter Company NAQL 11,000,000 11,000,000 17,286,741 24,234,727 13,833,677 15,196,700 Alia-The Royal Jordanian Airlines RJAL 84,373,000 84,373,000 326,319,000 393,786,000 109,098,000 106,007,000 Jordan National Shipping Lines SHIP 12,075,000 12,075,000 23,739,036 27,111,837 15,714,740 17,082,288 Trust International Transport TRTR 3,434,750 3,434,750 4,344,233 4,241,382 2,442,746 2,492,615 Jordan Investment & Tourism Transport(Alfa) ALFA 7,500,000 7,500,000 8,206,763 8,601,162 6,933,398 7,204,285 Masafat For Specialised Transport MSFT 12,000,000 12,000,000 14,764,665 20,140,596 13,182,403 13,549,185 Comprehensive Multiple Transportation** ABUS NA NA NA NA NA NA Rum Tourist Transport RUMM 6,000,000 7,000,000 12,399,872 12,524,288 6,691,469 7,674,319 Al-Fatihoun Al-Arab For Industry & Trade FATI NA NA NA NA NA NA *The last three companies are relatively new as their shares got listed after March 2008 ** ABUS’s announced semiannual result excluded the balance sheet data *** Figures in JDs
Assets Sector’s total assets reached JD 587,755,290 by the end of the first half of 2008 (excluding ABUS that didn’t announce complete results) compared to JD 483,430,139 in 2007 achieving an annual growth of 21.58%.
Royal Jordanian posted the highest value of total assets in the sector reaching JD 326,319,000 in 2007 comprising about 67.50% of the sector’s total assets for that part of the year, surpassing Salam International Transport & Trading (SITT) stake in sector’s total assets which came next with a portion of 8.13%, RJ holds the highest value of fixed assets as well as comprising 57.03% of its 2008’s first half total 36 assets. Transportation Sector
Current Assets to Total Assets ratio came in highest for SHIP as its current assets balance reached JD 11,809,547 which comprised 43.56% of its total assets value for the first half of 2008, following was Jordan Express Tourist Transport (JETT) with a ratio of 35.11% and Royal Jordanian (RJAL) with 33.02%.
The industry average for this ratio reached 25.26% in H1, 2008 compared to 28.11% recorded by the end 2007.
Debt and Equity The sector’s companies heavily rely on short term financing, four companies did not utilize long term financing for this period driving the industry ratio of short term liabilities to total liabilities to 70.07%, while Rum Tourist Transport Company (RUMM) recorded the highest use of long term financing weighing 77.14% of total liabilities. Industry average recorded a value of 29.93%.
As for equity multiplier, RJAL recorded the highest value as it reached 3.71 times, a slight increase from its levels recorded in 2007 yearend which reached 2.99 times. The industry ratio for Equity multiplier quoted for the first half of 2008 equals 1.83 times while such ratio reached 1.67 times in 2007 yearend.
The sector recorded an average of 61.57% of Debt to Equity ratio for the 2008’s first half; a slight decline from its2 007 level which reached 67.09% since total equity recorded 2.92% increase between the two periods reaching JD 223,255,203 by the end of June 2008 compared to JD 216,930,607 recorded 2007 yearend.
Income Statement- Net Income Company 2006 2007 H1, 2007 H1, 2008 SITT 1,448,336 1,655,255 1,393,482 1,187,793 MSFT 328,956 844,707 376,221 414,661 UNIF (923,488) (2,429,150) (394,544) (201,826) NAQL 2,064,905 723,078 530,144 1,363,023 SHIP (2,818,003) 3,167,068 1,841,592 2,297,655 TRTR (152,736) 115,480 6,270 58,162 JETT (413,409) 1,729,764 272,015 1,392,478 ALFA (737,365) (461,882) (435,997) 270,887 RJAL 6,135,000 20,363,000 (1,906,000) (3,091,000) ABUS - - (292,568) (1,530,051) RUMM - - (314,366) 65,259 FATI - - - - Net income 4,932,196 25,707,320 (317,233) 2,227,038 * These figures exclude the financial results of Al-Fatihoun Al-Arab for Industry & Trade, as they were not yet disclosed.
• By the end of 2007, total profit for the sector reached JD2 5,707,320 compared to JD 4,932,196 registered in 2006 yearend; a significant increase of 421.21% came about as Royal Jordanian poured in JD 20,363,000 as net profits in 2007. Due to the enhancement in RJ’s core business, the company’s Gross profit grew by a significant 155.02% reaching JD 32,992,000 in 2007 compared to a total of JD 12,937,000 declared by the end of 2006.
• Total semiannual profits reached JD 2,227,038 affected by Jordan National Shipping Lines (SHIP) performance which declared the highest semiannual earnings, its net profit reached up to JD2 ,297,655 while Royal Jordanian witnessed a retreat in its performance and declared a net loss of JD 3,091,000 influenced by the decline in the gross profit which registered a drop from a positive JD 5,758,000 recorded in H1, 2007 to a negative JD 1,606,000 disclosed by the end of 2008’s first half..
37 Profitability
ROE 2006 ROE 2007 ROE /H1 Annualized ROE 2006 ROE 2007 2008 /H1 ROA Annualized
30% 30% 25% 25% 20% 20% 15% 15% 10% 10% 5% 5% 0% 0% -5% -5% -10% -10% -15% -15% -20% -20% -25% -25%
-30% -30% * T SITT MSFT UNIF NAQL SHIP TRTR JETT ALFA RJAL RUMM -35% SITT MSF UNIF NAQL SHIP TRTR* JETT ALFA RJAL RUMM -35%
• TRTR achieved the highest semiannual increase in Net profit margin reaching 5.31% in H1, 2008 compared to 0.63% recorded by H1, 2007 since the company's earrings witnessed a significant change jumping from JD 6,270 in H1, 2007 to hit JD 58,162 in 2008, while SHIP recorded the highest NPM for H1, 2008 reaching 34.43% as a result of the high increase in its profits. • SHIP's strong profitability also contributed to the company's realization of the highest ROA and ROE ratios as of June2 008 reaching up to 8.47% and 26.90% respectively.
Industry Indicator 2006 Average 2007 Average H1, 2008 Average Net Profit Margin -1.83% -4.90% -2.98% ROA 2.21% 3.99% 2.73% ROE -1.58% 3.82% 3.86% Net Income 548,022 2,856,369 202,458 Current ratio 161.30 times 171.02 times 144.18 times Current Assets/ Total Asset 26.18% 28.11% 25.26% Current Liabilities/ Total liabilities 82.97% 75.13% 70.07% Equity Multiplier 1.70 1.67 1.83 Debt to Equity 70.39% 67.09% 61.57%
38 Transportation Sector
50%
0%
-50%
-150%
-200%
SITT MSFT UNIF NAQL SHIP TRTR* JETT ALFA RJAL ABUS RUMM Net Profit Margin H1 2008 19.54% 11.23% -15.77% 19.79% 34.43% 5.31% 28.52% 12.70% -0.98% -153.45% 5.96% Net Profit Margin H1 2007 28.711% 18.00% -40.37% 17.04% 25.69% 0.63% 8.19% -40.55% -0.81% -7.81% -25.61%
Market Ratios Sector’s average EPS reached 0.043 JDs/Share taking into account that three companies recorded negative values of EPS during the first half of 2008 producing irrelevant PE values, the average P/E for the sector reached up to 22.7 based on the 30th November 2008 prices. To get more indicative values, P/E values were weighted based on the relevant market cap per each stock; this resulted with an average P/E that reached to 9.85. P/BV recorded an average of 1.406; the main contributor to such average was TRTR as it recorded a value of 4.13 followed by Rum Tourist Transport (RUMM) with a quoted value of 1.40.
P/E P/BV 4.5 4.0 25 3.5 20 3.0 15 2.5 10 2.0
5 1.5 1.0 0 0.5 0.0 RUM TRTR ALFA JETT SHIP NAQL MSFT SITT SITT MSFT UNIF NAQL SHIP TRTR JETT ALFA RJAL RUMM
P/E P/E Weighted Prices as of 30th November 2008 Average P/E = 22.70 Average weighted P/E= 9.85 Average P/BV= 1.406 ** P/ BV values excludes ABUS
39 Q3, 2008 -Quick highlight
Item Net Profit Gross Profit Paid In Capital Total Liabilities Total Assets Salam International Transport & Trading ( SITT) 1,668,077 2,325,380 13,200,000 33,891,253 61,907,713 Unified Transport & Logistics ( UNIF) (270,415) 257,653 6,511,057 8,462,991 16,031,370 Jordan Express Tourist Transport ( JETT) 1,752,296 2,832,655 10,800,000 3,409,675 22,233,917 Transport& Investment Barter Company (NAQL) 1,952,192 2,993,538 12,100,000 8,314,238 24,100,107 Alia-The Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJAL) (2,185,000) 24,256,000 84,373,000 276,416,000 383,329,000 Jordan National Shipping Lines ( SHIP) 3,853,458 3,093,333 12,075,000 10,071,057 28,667,496 *Note: Only 6 out of the 12 transportation companies listed on the ASE disclosed their third quarter results for 2008.
ROE - Q3 ROA - Q3
30.00% 15.00%
20.00% 10.00%
10.00% 5.00%
0.00% 0.00%
-10.00% SITT UNIF JETT NAQL RJAL SHIP -5.00% SITT UNIF JETT NAQL RJAL SHIP
40 Transportation Sector
Summary & Conclusion
Since it began implementing the economic reforms set forth by the IMF, the government of Jordan has worked rigorously on enhancing its regulations and developing new plans and strategies, in order to take the economy to higher levels. This has been done partially by imitating the successful structural and economic models of developed nations.
Due to the fact that transportation and communications are an integral part of any society, the Jordanian government has focused much of its newly composed efforts on the development of this sector. To capsulate the government’s vision regarding the transportation sector’s enhancement, the Ministry of Transport, which is the acting regulatory entity, has articulated an agenda called the National Strategy for the Transport Sector in Jordan, the progress of which spans between 2008 and 2010. This agenda aims at tapping the potential and increasing the capacity of the country’s transportation sector on all of its fronts; including air, land, maritime, and railway transportation.
Two of the most important projects that the government is currently undergoing are the Amman-Zarqa Light Rail project and the Queen Alia International Airport Expansion project. Also in the national agenda is the Railway Master Plan, which seeks to connect the different corners of the country, from east to west, and from north to south.
On the other hand, one of the biggest challenges facing the government in its efforts is that Jordan lacks some of the many parameters required to control and move forward with the process of growing and rebuilding the country’s façade. These include proper financing, the availability of skilled labor, and the availability of adequate and relevant expertise. These shortages are affecting the speed with which the different projects are being processed and raising concerns about the accuracy of the set deadlines. For example, the Amman- Zarqa Light Rail project was originated in 2005, yet as some obstacles were unearthed along the way, no concrete evidence of the 28 Km railway’s progress has been founded up to date. Meanwhile, the 1,068 Km master railway was anticipated to be completed within three years from now; a targeted deadline which is now very much in question.
Nevertheless, since Jordan is blessed with political stability and a convenient location, the government has dedicated considerable promotional endeavors in order to publicize the country’s good reputation and its many tourist attractions. Developing the transportation sectors is placed high on the government’s list of priorities, since an effective transport system plays a significant role in enhancing the tourism sector, which is a major source of income for Jordan and a vital part of its economy.
Through its many related projects, the government’s ultimate goal is to provide Jordanian residents with an efficient, dependable and safe world-class public transportation network that will eventually minimize their reliance on private vehicles. This will affect the country and boost its well-being in many aspects, such as environmental, economic, and professionalism.
Currently, many efforts are being channeled towards putting the transportation sector on the Investment Promotion Law’s agenda. So far, land freight is the only form of transportation included under this law, while public transportation is awaiting the cabinet’s approval. Including the transportation sector in this law will give it more leeway and encourage the augmented investment that it so desperately needs.
In order to be able to meet prevailing expectations, the government will need the private sector’s involvement to rise up to a more perceptible level, which in turn will require the government’s efficient, effective and committed support.
41 References
· Ministry of Transport, www.mot.gov.jo · Zawya, www.zawya.com · Visit Jordan. QAIA passenger capacity to hit 9 million by 2010, 23rd May 2007 http://it.visitjordan.com/visitjordan_it/NewsDetails/tabid/91/ Default.aspx · Queen Alia international Airports http://www.qaia.gov.jo/inner_en.php?id=2 · Air Transport Action Group, The economic and social benefits of Air Transport2 008, http://www.iata.org/NR/rdonlyres/5C57FE7767-FF-499C- A0714-E5E2216D7280//atag_economic_social_benefits_2008.pdf , April 2008. · Euromed Aviation Project, Minutes of the Air Transport Seminar, http://www.euromedtransport.org/fileadmin/download/Aviation/Workshops/ Amman/Amman_Minutes_of_Air_Transport_Seminar_October_07_eng.pdf, Amman, October 2007. · Royal Jordanian – RJ News, http://www.rj.com/PlanBook/PressReleases/tabid/59/Default.aspx?itemID=135, 23rd June 2008 · Evon Abu-Taieh., Computer Crossroad Organization, GIS Systems in Jordan, A Case Study of Public Transport Authority, http://www. computercrossroad.org/ThePublicTransportAuthority_papaer_p.pdf,. · Public Security Directorate, Jordan traffic institute, Traffic Accidents in Jordan 2007, http://www.jti.psd.gov.jo/images/docs/2007.pdf, 2007 · Public Security Directorate, Central Traffic Directorate, traffic accidents in Jordan – May2 008, http://www.traffic.psd.gov.jo/images/docs/1112. pdf, 2008. · The Greater Amman Municipality, www.ammancity.gov.jo · Jordan Times newspaper, www.jordantimes.com, Tuesday, November 9, 1999 · The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, http://webserver.memr.gov.jo · Aqaba Container Terminal http://www.act.com.jo/pages/frame-intro.htm · Aqaba Development Company , http://www.adc.jo/ · APM Terminals, Aqaba Development Corporation & APM Terminals Sign a Joint Venture Agreement, http://www.apmterminals.com/mediacenter. aspx?id=5327, 31st July 2006. · Jordan Maritime Authority, www.jma.gov.jo · Al Arab Alyawm Newspaper , http://www.alarabalyawm.net/pages.php?news_id=100698, issue 4020, 24th June 2008. · Aramex, www.aramex.com · Arabian business, Interest mounts in Jordan transport infrastructure, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/510372-interest-mounts-in-jordan- transport-infrastructure, February 2008. · Al-ghad Newspaper, www.alghad.jo · Iraq Updates, Iraq Pledges Natural Gas Supply to Jordan – minister http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/32704, 2008 · Iraq Jordan Pipeline, http://www.allbusiness.com/mining/oil-gas-extraction-crude-petroleum-natural/5647341-.html, May 12th 20003. · Dubai financial market, Aramex results, http://www.dfm.co.ae/documents/News%20Files/a17ba262-efdb-4146-a709-ac43dd36d125.pdf, October 2008
42 Transportation Sector
· The Ministry of Finance, General Budget Department , budget Law 2008 http://www.gbd.gov.jo/en/pages.php?menu_id=15544&local_ type=151&local_id=&local_details=1&id=3 · The Central Bank of Jordan, www.cbj.gov.jo · Department of Statistics, www.dos.gov.jo · Amman Stock exchange, www.ase.com.jo · AME info, www.ameinfo.com · Northwest GIS services http://www.nwgis.com/gisdefn.htm · FDI.net, Transport-sector overview http://www.fdi.net/documents/WorldBank/databases/jordan/transport.htm · AMEinfo.com, Jordan to host 1st International Public Transport Conference in the Middle East. http://www.ameinfo.com/149533.html, September 2008. · The J. Paul Getty Trust, GIS Being Developed for Jordan and Iraq http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/newsletters/23_1/gcinews2. html, Spring 2008 · Robeel Haq ,Crossing Jordan : http://www.itp.net/news/493868, 18th September, 2006 · Jordan Aviation JATE, www.jordanaviation.jo · Arab Wings, www.arabwings.com.jo · Royal Wings Airlines, www.royalwings.com · National Shipping Company, http://www.nss.com.jo · Noor Financial Investment Company, http://www.noorinvestment.com/en/Sub_Jordan.aspx · Kirresh Group, www.kirresh.com · Law No 16 for the year 1995 and Its Amendment for the year 2000, the Investment Promotion Law. · Taher Kanaan & Marwan Kardoosh, Law-Making for Trade Liberalization and Investment Promotion in Jordan, Center for Development Research, http://www.zef.de/fileadmin/webfiles/downloads/projects/politicalreform/LawMaking_for_TradeLib_and_InvestPromotion_Jordan. pdf. January 2005 · Zaid Kirresh, Vice President, Sahara – Kirresh Tourist transport. · Al Rai newspaper, http://www.alrai.com/pages.php?news_id=237516, 26th October 2008. · Kuwait Times, Jordan signs railway deal with consortium, Regional News, http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTM3NDky NzY5MA==, June 1st 2008. · Security Depositary Center, www.sdc.com.jo
43 Research Team
Riham N. Al-Masri Loay AbuBaker Ola Al Farra Head of Research Research Associate Analyst [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Arwa Ayyash Rana Al-Basheti Analyst Analyst [email protected] [email protected]
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44 Transportation Sector January 2009