His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday announced the establishment of the Ajloun Special Development Zone, which officials said is expected to attract investments worth billions and create thousands of jobs over the next 15 years.

The development zone includes 24 proposed tourism projects, including a 2,000-dunum tourism city that will comprise 900 hotel rooms, restaurants and other entertainment facilities with environmental considerations taken into account.

Also Tuesday, King Abdullah laid the cornerstone for the JD35 million Jerash-Ajloun Military Hospital, which will be established over 51 dunums and serve the two governorates, whose total population is 300,000. The hospital's initial capacity of 100 beds can be expanded to 300.

The King also laid the foundation stone for a Ranger Academy that will be established over a quarry near Ajloun Natural Reserve for the training of about 100-150 students annually on ecotourism, guiding and ecosystem preservation.

The JD3.5 million academy, which will be situated on 2,500 square metres, is expected to be completed in early 2010 and will train Jordanians and students from other countries on issues of ecological conservation and ecotourism services, Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) Director General Yehya Khalid said.

At a meeting with community leaders from the governorate, King Abdullah said he constantly follows up on the needs and affairs of Ajloun to improve its situation, instructing the government to take the required steps to advance the governorate's development and enhance the living standards of its residents.

The King also directed the government to respond “seriously” to residents' concerns expressed during the meeting, especially those related to education, health and youth.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi said the government and citizens share responsibility for accelerating the implementation of the development plan. He added that the government will start expansion and renovation work worth JD5 million at Al Eman Hospital in the governorate, following residents' insistence on the urgency of the project.

The premier added that a tender will be floated next month for the construction of a dam in the Kufranjeh area, saying the implementation of the project, which is estimated to cost JD20 million, will start next year.

Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said development plans for Ajloun take into consideration the preservation of the environment, and pledged that "no trees will be cut when implementing the proposed projects".

According to the minister, the tourism city alone is expected to attract about $1 billion in investments, in addition to creating over 3,000 jobs.

"There are investors who have already shown interest in starting projects in the zone," said Irani.