Chinese Government provides RMB 210 million grant for Salt-Ardha Road Expansion and Rehabilitation Project

Project narrative

On October 11, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Jordan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), allocating a grant $31.5 million for the Salt-Ardha Road Expansion and Rehabilitation Project. Then, on October, 23, 2017, during the seventh meeting of the China-Jordan Economic and Trade Committee, representatives from China's Ministry of Commerce and Jordan's Ministry of Public Works and Housing signed an accord regarding the Salt-Ardha Road Expansion and Rehabilitation Project. The accord (约旦萨尔特公路升级改造项目自建模式会谈纪要) stipulated that Jordan would take a leading role in constructing and renovating a 12.5 km long arterial road with a width of 18.8 meters from Al Ardha intersection to the Al-Subaihi intersection within the town of Al Salt (السلط) in Jordan's Balqa Governorate. This road is an artery of Jordan's Highway 30 (30 طريق‎). The project aims to increase the transportation capacity of Highway 30 around Al Salt City in Balqa Governorate. Additionally, the project intends to deepen China-Jordan relations in the Belt and Road Initiative context. Then, on September 30, 2018, the Chinese Government and the Government of Jordan signed an exchange of letters, which earmarked RMB 210,000,000 (or approximately $31.5 million) for the project. On September 3, 2019, a Deputy Director of the Economic Cooperation Bureau in China’s Ministry of Commerce, Zheng Hucheng, and Jordan's Minister of Public Works and Housing, Farah Omsh, signed a project implementation agreement to initiate the project. Then, on or about May 26, 2022, Jordan's Minister of Public Works and Housing signed another implementation agreement with China First Highway's Regional Director for the Middle East, indicating China First Highway Engineering Company (CFHEC) is likely a contractor responsible for project implementation. The project was expected to take 18 months to complete. On October 20, 2022, a foundation laying ceremony took place, marking the beginning of project construction.