New bureau to spearhead equal division of Jordanian-Iraqi cargo

50-50 deal expected to boost trade sector

By Maram Kayed - Jan 06,2020 - Last updated at Jan 06,2020

AMMAN — A bureau jointly owned by Iraq and Jordan will soon open to implement the new 50-50 truck loading policy, according to President of the Jordan Truck Owners Association Mohammad Dawood.

The policy, which denotes that Jordanian and Iraqi trucks should divide the cargo load of any trade agreement equally between them for transport, will be implemented as soon as the bureau opens on January 12.

The bureau will be located in Amman, and is tasked with setting up the technical arrangements of the policy, according to Dawood.

In a phone interview with The Jordan Times, the association’s president said that Iraqi trucks used to carry 90 per cent of the load to and from the two countries, “which left Jordanian truckers with very little left to carry”.

The 50-50 agreement is expected to “significantly stimulate the Jordanian economy, not just in regards to the transport sector but for the trade and export sectors as a whole”, Dawood said.

The opening of the Karameh-Turabil border crossing last year has since proved “disappointing” to several sectors including the transport sector, according to several previous remarks made to The Jordan Times.

“When the border first opened, there were no more than 20 trucks crossing on a daily basis, which has now risen to 200 trucks a day. However, there is still room for improvement,” said Dawood.

He noted that the stakeholders in the truck transport sector lost more than JD700 million in the years that the border was closed due to the security situation in Iraq.

“Many truck drivers and truck owners had to change their work to local routes and others chose to drive to other countries, but after the opening of the border they have gone back to their normal Iraq route,” the association president said.

Since the opening of the border, the Jordanian and Iraqi governments have worked on restoring to their previous state, including the cancellation of what Dawood called the “expensive” back-to-back loading and unloading regulation.

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