The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's long-term financing institution, is providing a loan of USD 32 million (EUR 26 million) to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for the construction of the first phase of the Amman ring road.
The project consists in the construction of the first phase of the planned Amman Ring Road, which is expected to have a total length of 116 km. The first phase concerns a 41 Km section around Amman on its eastern side. It includes also the relocation near the new road of the Amman Customs Depot and the infrastructure and utility services for an inland port, so as to handle the large flows of road freight traffic on the national and international links. This section has also been called the Amman Development Corridor given its identified potential to welcome the expected metropolitan area's future rapid development.
The project contributes to improved quality of life in Amman. It provides a bypass on the main North-South border link and the port of Aqaba, while alleviating at the same time local traffic in the rapidly growing capital of Jordan. The project is co-financed by EIB, World Bank and the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development.
The project contributes to improved quality of life in Amman. It provides a bypass on the main North-South border link and the port of Aqaba, while alleviating at the same time local traffic in the rapidly growing capital of Jordan.
The project is co-financed by EIB, World Bank and the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development.
FEMIP is a major step forward in financial and economic cooperation between the Union and the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs). It foresees EUR 8-10 billion funding of investments in the MPCs by 2006. It has at its disposal funds under the existing Euro-Mediterranean mandates, risk capital resources from the EU budget as well as technical assistance and investment aid funds provided by the Union. FEMIP's top priority is to promote private sector development (especially SMEs and FDI) and support projects helping to establish a propitious climate for private investment (economic infrastructure, health and education schemes). FEMIP's ultimate goal is to help the MPCs meet the challenges of economic and social modernisation and enhance regional integration in the run-up to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area planned for 2010.
Set up following the Barcelona European Council in March 2002, it was inaugurated in October 2002. During FEMIP's first full year of activity the Bank has extended over 1.8 billion of new loans and approved a pipeline of 17 new investment operations for another total amount of EUR 1.8 billion, benefiting to almost all MPCs. This led the recent Brussels European Council to further reinforce FEMIP by closer cooperation of the 27 Euromed Partner countries (15 EU, 2 Acceeding and 10 MPCs), more regional offices in the MPCs, and innovative financing instruments.
On 1st October 2003, the EIB officially inaugurated the Bank's Cairo regional office, which has been operational since July 2003. Headed by Mr Luigi Marcon and with a constituency spanning the whole of the Near East, the office's mission, in addition to liaising with the MPC authorities of the region, is to optimise the process of project identification and monitoring. Another task is to facilitate the implementation of technical assistance both for projects and financial institutions in the beneficiary countries.