Salt municipality working to restore archives after computer theft

AMMAN — The Greater Salt Municipality needs up to seven months to restore its electronic archive for developing the city centre that was lost in a recent theft, Salt Mayor Khaled Al Khashman said Tuesday. 

Khashman noted the city’s development unit had been working on the project plans that were stored on the four stolen computers since 2004. These include three major projects on Al Ain Yard and its surrounding area, the city’s great mosque and the rehabilitation of old commercial streets.

In a phone interview with The Jordan Times, he added that the “priceless” stolen studies aimed at identifying and documenting cultural and historical sites in the city, describing the theft as “disrespect for the city’s history and people”.

Copies of the stolen documents are available with planning partners, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other local and international consultants who worked on the projects, but “it will take time to collect and organise them,” the mayor said.

The city’s project for joining UNESCO’s World Heritage List was also among the documents, but the municipality has a back-up copy, Khashman said.

“The theft aimed to hinder the progress of the municipality’s work,” he charged, adding that the incident took place between Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning, as employees discovered the theft Saturday morning.  

Security authorities have launched an investigation and collected fingerprints from the location, according to the mayor, who added that the municipality will take stricter security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.