His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday said that he is currently working with the government to draw up plans designed to alleviate citizens' difficult living conditions, stressing that standing up to challenges facing the citizens is a top priority.
At a meeting with an array of officials and representatives from Salt, 28 kilometres northwest of Amman, King Abdullah said: "We are aware of the challenges and the hardships citizens face and no hour passes without us thinking of how to ease the situation."
The King said the efforts he exerts at the international level and with friendly countries seek to attract further support and investments to address the problems of poverty and unemployment, and to carry out development projects.
In a discussion with Salt representatives concerning their needs and demands, His Majesty underlined the importance of implementing the directives he issued in December last year to establish an airport in the Jordan Valley area to help export agricultural produce, underlining the significance of the airport to the agricultural sector.
The government has already allocated 3,000 dunums in the Central Jordan Valley and in early June it started carrying out detailed wind movement and soil analysis, along with other preliminary studies such as cost analysis.
Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, meanwhile, said at the meeting that the government will announce on Tuesday its decision to exempt locally produced agricultural products from sales tax.
The decision to exempt both animal and plant products from the 4 per cent sales tax seeks to help the agricultural sector cope with the recent increase in food and oil prices.
The premier also referred to a project the government is implementing to encourage growing crops in greenhouses.
Concerning the water situation, King Abdullah said the implementation of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Programme, which will address the decline in the Dead Sea water level, could add a new source of water for the Jordan Valley area.
Salt representatives pointed out that the challenges facing the residents of the city include poor infrastructure, difficulties facing urban expansion, traffic jams and the underdeveloped tourism sector in the city and surrounding districts.
They also addressed the need for income-generating projects and creating an industrial estate, noting that poverty and unemployment in the area stands at 13 per cent. They expressed the need for creating new schools and carrying out maintenance work on existing ones. Expanding healthcare centres and building new ones was another main concern for Salt residents.
The premier said the government will secure JD6 million for the development of downtown Salt.
The King, who emphasised his full support for enhancing services to Salt citizens, said all demands of the residents will be reviewed and implemented as soon as possible in accordance with government priorities.