His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday reiterated the importance of the land use plan, part of the Amman Master Plan prepared by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM).

In a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, King Abdullah stressed that the plan was a major step to prepare a comprehensive and integral strategy to regulate land use and to plan for future related services and development projects.

The King told the prime minister in his letter,” We view the land use plan as a guide to determine the line of development projects and regulate populated areas in all the Kingdom's governorates and cities.”

His Majesty emphasised the importance of the plan in directing investments and preserving and promoting agricultural and natural resources.

King Abdullah also said the plan should conform to the country's vision to provide the necessary infrastructure to sustain the development process, draw and activate investments, preserve the country's resources and transform Jordanian cities into models of modern design, planning and architecture.

As the Kingdom includes several development areas that house tourist and natural attractions, His Majesty King Abdullah highlighted the need to arrive at clear regulations and criteria on the use of land in areas such as Jerash, Ajloun, Umm Qais, Dana and Wadi Rum.

His Majesty also reiterated the need to arrive at a clear mechanism to regulate the development process in a manner that safeguards forests and other natural resources and preserves the aesthetic value of these areas.

In addition, the King said these regulations and criteria should be included in the policies and legislation that govern and regulate investments, while the Ministry of the Environment will be entrusted with implementing these pieces of legislation, in cooperation with the concerned institutions.

King Abdullah called for joint and integrated efforts to arrive at an overall perspective on these regulations within two months starting today.

The Jordan Times