25 May 2022, Amman

Your Excellency Eng. Yahya Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing, 

Your Excellency Eng. Mahmoud Khliefat, Director General of Government Tenders Department,

Your Excellency Eng. Jamal Adu Eid, Secretary General of MPWE,

Dear friends from the China,

Dear fiends from the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As-salamu alaykum. 

It gives me a great pleasure to join you at the Ministry of Public Works and Housing for the signing of implementation agreement of reconstruction and upgrading of Salt-Ardah Road section. 

I wish to congratulate the consortium of China First Highway Engineering Company and United Enterprises Company of Jordan, for being awarded this important project. I also wish to thank Minister Kasbi for his dedication to the project.  

This section of highway 30 is vital for tourism, agricultural and industrial development. The rehabilitation and upgrading will improve road safety, reduce accidents and facilitate logistics. 

The project has been planned and prepared for years. It has come to fruition thanks to concerted efforts of Chinese and Jordanian partners. Today, we are laying another milestone after delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The project is a great example of partnership between China and Jordan. It is funded mainly by the Chinese government and partly by the Jordanian government. It is undertaken by a consortium of Chinese and Jordanian companies. 

China First Highway Engineering Company is the biggest subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). The CCCC is a global leader in infrastructure development and civil engineering, with projects spanning over 40 countries and regions in the world, many of them Belt and Road Initiative flagship projects.

United Enterprises Company is a leading construction company in Jordan, which definitely adds strength to its Chinese partner.

This year we celebrate the 45th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Over the past 45 years, under the guidance of generations of leaders, our bilateral relations have become closer and stronger, our mutually-beneficial cooperation has grown both in scope and in depth. The Chinese government takes great pride in providing assistance to Jordan in various sectors over the years. Funding this project is a testimony of China’s continued commitment to helping Jordan in its social economic development, and it adds value to our strategic partnership. China will continue to support Jordan’s pursuit for development and her people’s aspirations for better lives in the second centenary.

To conclude, I look forward to an early commencement of construction and a project of quality and excellence. I hope that through the project, we will build a road of safety, a road of development, a road of friendship, and a road to a bright future.

Today is Jordan’s Independence Day. I wish all our Jordanian friends a joyous holiday and may the friendly Jordanian state enjoy continued stability and prosperity under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II.  

Thank you!