Investment minister, World Bank official meet over infrastructure projects

AMMAN — Investment Minister Kholoud Saqqaf on Wednesday met with Vice President for Infrastructure at the World Bank (WB) Guangzhe Chen and an accompanying delegation to discuss cooperation in infrastructure projects and public-private partnership (PPP). 

Talks during the meeting focused on empowering private sector investments through various WB tools, where the two sides also discussed several issues of mutual interest, according to a ministry statement. 

Saqqaf commended the existing cooperation programme with the WB, including the bank's contributions to financing infrastructure projects and schemes that seek to generate jobs. 

The minister reviewed a list of public-private partnership projects registered in the national register of government investment projects. These ventures mainly cover the transport, water and infrastructure sectors. 

Saqqaf added that to provide the best investment climate Jordan has made several reforms to the investment portfolio that are in line with the 2033 Economic Modernisation Vision, such as the establishment of the Ministry of Investment as the main reference for investment in the Kingdom and endorsing the Investment Environment Law.

Chen stressed the World Bank's continued support for the PPP and infrastructure projects by stimulating financing for the private sector through the bank's various mechanisms, especially in the water, energy and transport sectors —  the priority sectors in the Economic Modernisation Vision.