Expansion work under way on Aqaba passenger terminal

AMMAN — The Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) has started expansion work on its passenger terminal, which receives visitors and goods from North Africa, an official said on Tuesday.

The south Aqaba terminal serves as an arrival and departure point for Egyptian labourers and pilgrims coming from North Africa en route to Saudi Arabia, according to the ADC official, who preferred to remain unnamed.

In addition, the terminal also receives cargo from Egypt and other North African countries, and is also an exporting station for several of the Kingdom's goods and agricultural produce, the official noted.

The expansion work on the station seeks to accommodate the increasing trade movement between Jordan, Egypt and other North African nations, the official said, adding that the expansion will provide extra space for the increasing number of visitors and the booming trade movement via the Nweibeh-Aqaba route.

Under the expansion project of the passenger terminal, an additional 3,500 square metres of facilities, halls and lots will be established to separate arrivals from departures, while separate facilities located 800 metres away from the terminal will be established for pilgrims.

Separate facilities will be established for pilgrims to reduce overcrowding at the terminal and to provide pilgrims with the services they need, the official said, noting that parking lots will be established to accommodate 180 buses.

The passengers and cargo terminal expansion is scheduled to be completed within six months, the official added, noting that the separate facilities for pilgrims will be completed by the start of the fasting month of Ramadan, expected to start in June, when many pilgrims arrive to the country from North Africa en route to Saudi Arabia to perform umra (the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.)

"The cost of the expansion project is JD4.5 million, which will be covered by the budget of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority," the official told The Jordan Times, highlighting that the south Aqaba passenger terminal is Jordan's second important port terminal following the Aqaba Container Terminal.