UAE, Jordan to form joint company for the Aqaba rail project

UAE, Jordan push ahead with mine-to-port rail project

The UAE and Jordan inked agreements to push ahead with the USD 2.3 bn Aqaba railwayproject connecting Jordan’s port of Aqaba with the Al Shidiya and Ghor es-Safi mining regions, UAE 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.

The project is intended to shift bulk mineral transport off roads and onto rails, cutting transportation costs and streamlining logistics. The network is expected to transport about 13 mn tons of phosphate and 2.6 mn tons of potash annually. Financial close is expected in early 2027, and construction is estimated to take five years.

Jordan’s Investment Ministry said the railway is part of a broader USD 5.5 bn package agreed with the UAE in late 2023.

High tide for German business interest in Morocco

A handful of German companies are eyeing new investment in Morocco across logistics, pharma, automotive, software, and AI. Dachser is opening a new large-scale facility in Tangier to bolster supply chain services for a growing industrial sector in the north, while Bayer launched a new production line at its Nouaceur facility. Leoni is also expanding its staffing to meet surging demand for EV wiring from European markets, and digital firm Energie Noire is launching new software and AI hubs in Casablanca and Khouribga.

Back to the skies

Regional airlines are gradually resuming normal operations, following a stretch ofinconsistency due to the conflict and intermittent closures of airspaces.

Hitting “reset”: Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Oman Air are all in various stages of phased restarts and flight increases, with most carriers targeting near-full network recovery by mid-May. Flynas will operate a limited number of flights between Riyadh and Damascus from next Sunday, while Flydubai will resume flights to Beirut on Saturday, following the lead of Royal Jordanian, Qatar Airways, and Iraqi Airways.

EgyptAir resumed daily flights to several Gulf cities and launched daily services to Erbil and Baghdad last Tuesday, though destinations like Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain remain suspended pending permits.

A handful of gaps remain, including Qatar and Kuwait air spaces remaining closed to transit carriers, with several carriers continuing to suspend routes to both countries pending permits. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also extended its advisory to avoid airspace over Iran, Israel and parts of the Gulf until 24 April.