His Majesty King Abdullah stressed on Sunday the need to involve local communities in Aqaba in the decision-making process.
His Majesty also urged better services for residents of the area to be proportionate to developmental achievements in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone.
At a meeting with representatives of the local Aqaba community on Sunday, the King called for adopting workable plans to create jobs and enhance services, particularly in the educational, health and youth sectors.
Stressing that he was aware of the challenges facing residents of Aqaba Governorate, King Abdullah said: "What we want is to identify priorities," adding he was ready to listen to community leaders about the problems they were facing in relation to various aspects of their lives.
The King said: "Our ambitions for developing the city are huge and we will work with the government to work out successful solutions to the challenges and problems obstructing progress in Aqaba," a growing town where around 90,000 people currently reside.
His Majesty said he will follow up on progress in several development projects seeking to enhance the living conditions of people during the coming weeks and months.
Upon directives by His Majesty, a school called Salma Bint Amr Basic School will be built, in addition to a centre for rehabilitation and accommodation of the disabled. Furthermore, several projects will be implemented to better public services.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Hosni Abu Gheida said the total value of projects implemented in Aqaba, under implementation or about to be implemented stands at $18 billion.
Abu Gheida added that ASEZA has started applying a series of procedures in implementation of King Abdullah's directives to enhance the living conditions of Aqaba residents in a way that ensures the investments reflect positively on their quality of life.
The ASEZA chief said several projects related to transportation and cleaning will be carried out in Aqaba, while state-owned lands will be allocated for the building of thousands of housing units under the Decent Housing for Decent Living Initiative.
Abu Gheida said with the support of Her Majesty Queen Rania, the ASEZA Commissioners' Council has decided to extend 75 annual scholarships for Aqaba students to study nursing and hospitality.
Aqaba community leaders called for allocating land for a college of marine sciences, reducing the impact of factories on the environment and enhancing services in various sectors, among others.
Also Sunday, King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces, opened the headquarters of the Support Group of the Aqaba Civil Defence Department (CDD), which is tasked with providing supportive services to the CDD in the governorate.
The 3,700-square-metre building is fully supplied with advanced equipment and qualified cadres to deal with various accidents and emergencies.
King Abdullah was briefed by CDD Director Lieutenant General Nawaf Masaid on the unit and reviewed programmes and plans on the drawing board.