His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday inaugurated the industrial park of the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), to become an integral industrial free zone specialised in defence industries and vehicle and machinery manufacturing.
By 2015, the park is expected to provide around 15,000 job opportunities and investment volume is expected to reach JD500 million, according to a feasibility study on the industrial area.
Built over an area of 3,800 dunums in Mafraq's Al Khalidiyah area, the zone is located 50 kilometres from Amman and 24 kilometres from Zarqa on the crossroads linking Jordan with Iraq and Syria, making it easy for its companies and factories to export their products to nearby countries.
At the beginning of the visit to the industrial zone, the King laid the cornerstones for two factories built by the Arab Meals Company and the Jordan Ammunition Manufacturing and Services Company.
The King was accompanied during the visit by Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff General Khaled Sarayreh and several members of diplomatic missions in Amman.
The King also inaugurated the factory of the Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing Company (JLVM), which was established as a joint venture between KADDB and the United Kingdom's Jankel Group. The JLVM is which is specialised in manufacturing armoured vehicles for military and security purposes.
While touring the factory, the King was briefed by Mohammad Anasweh, the director general of the JLVM, on the factory's various products. These included Al Jawad armoured internal security vehicle, the Tha'lab long-range patrol vehicle, the desert ranger, a multipurpose utility vehicle, and the Desert Iris 4X4 non-armoured vehicles with heavy-duty specifications.
KADDB Chairman and CEO Moayad Samman presented a briefing on the bureau's establishment, which he said began with an initiative launched by King Abdullah to build a facility to provide the Jordan Armed Forces with high-tech vehicles and machinery.
Within one year of its establishment in 1999, KADDB had established more than 15 joint projects, he added, noting that the inauguration ceremony marks the 10th anniversary of the agency's establishment, which currently exports its products to more than 50 importers in 28 countries worldwide.
The KADDB industrial zone, which was announced in 2008, has been transformed from an infrastructure developer into an operator and supplier of logistical services, after it was provided with all necessary services and linked with concerned public departments such as the Jordan Customs Department and the Jordanian Free Zones Corporation.
Wahab Awamleh, director general of KADDB, said: “The park was established to consolidate the flow of advanced technology into Jordan through companies seeking to benefit from the zone's incentives and services.”
KADDB Industrial Park, a limited-liability company, was established in accordance with the Free Zones Law to strengthen the industrial base of Jordan, attract investments and encourage the development of clusters in the defence and automotive industries by creating an investment-attractive environment that provides incentives, tax exemptions and state-of-the-art logistical services including communications, infrastructure and administration.
KADDB is a research and development facility created to provide a one-stop solution for the supply of defence and commercial equipment optimised to the requirements of the Middle East.