The UAE and Jordan agreed to push ahead with the USD 2.3 bn Aqaba railway project — connecting Jordan’s Aqaba port with the Al Shidiya and Ghor es-Safi mining regions, state news agency Wam reports. The partnership will see the establishment of the UAE-Jordan Railway Company to develop and operate the 360-km railway project.

About the project: The project is intended to shift bulk mineral transport from road to rail, cutting transportation costs and streamlining logistics. The network — designed for a capacity of around 16 mtpa — is expected to transport about 13 mtpa of phosphate and 2.6 mtpa potash. Financial close is expected in early 2027, and construction is estimated to take five years.

REMEMBER-The rail project is part of a broader USD 5.5 bn investment package inked back in 2023 by President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

Aqaba is already testing the hub case

Advanced talks are in progress to route freight through Aqaba Port and position it as a freight and logistics hub alongside Queen Alia International Airport, according to the Jordan Shipping Association. Trial shipments are already underway, including cargo rerouted from Iraq’s Umm Qasr to Aqaba for a large German factory, as the government moves to form a committee to streamline transit and cut bottlenecks.

The case for Aqaba: The port stayed fully operational while much of the region faced disruption. All vessels scheduled for March arrived on time, with more than 70k TEUs handled across 46 container ships as flows of wheat, food, oil products, gas, and transit cargo continued. The port boasts 12 cargo and container stations, six main logistics and storage sites with up to 2 mn sqm of space, customs systems that allow pre-clearance, and transit markdowns of up to 40%.

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