CCECC pledges to fund Jordanian National Railway Network Project

On September 10th, 2015, during the 2015 China-Arab States Expo, hosted by China’s Ministry of Commerce, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CECC) and the Jordanian Ministry of Trade and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to cooperate on the Jordan National Railway Project (约旦国家铁路项). According to the MoU, CECC pledged a $2.8 billion to fund the Jordan’s three phase construction of a railway network, approximately 948km long, linking Jordan’s Port Aqaba with Syria, Iraq, and Saudia Arabia. According to the Chinese Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office in Jordan, the project would likely be financed under a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) model. On August 10th, 2019, Jordan’s Cabinet approved an MoU signed between Jordanian and Chinese companies to assist Jordan’s Ministry of Transport in constructing the railway network. On February 26th, 2020, The Jordanian Minister of Transportation announced that certain preliminary studies of the railway had been completed. On, August 26th, 2018, Jordan’s Central Bank plans to raise funds for the railway project domestically. As of August 26th, 2018, project financing is continuing but now without CECC participation. Jordan is looking to fund the entire project domestically. This information is backup by June 6th, 2020, Aghad, a Jordanian media agency, released a report stating through the quantitative easing of Jordan’s national currency, the Jordanian Dinar (JOD), Jordan plans to continue to raise funds for the project.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

14