His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday visited the old port in the southern city of Aqaba and called for committing to the deadline to move operations from it and deliver it to the developers of the third phase of the Marsa Zayed project.

King Abdullah stressed the need for all relevant institutions to cooperate to ensure the port is delivered by September, noting the important value-added Marsa Zayed project, which is implemented by UAE company Eagle Hills, and its importance in attracting investments to Aqaba and Jordan.

His Majesty called for taking precautionary measures to protect the environment and ensure public safety while implementing the demolition work required to deliver the port.

For the new southern port, the King stressed that high-quality facilities and services must be available to ensure smooth and efficient flow and storage of goods, which would contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of Aqaba ports in the region.

During the visit, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh briefed His Majesty on the action plan to deliver the old port's site for the commencement of the third phase of the Marsa Zayed project.

Shraideh said migrating operations and relocating all official administrative and security operations to the new southern port will be completed before the end of this month.

The new port, on Aqaba’s southern beach, will begin its operations at the beginning of next month, he added.

The ASEZA chief commissioner added that completion of the required infrastructure and the demolition and removal of rubble of all existing facilities and buildings in the old port—with the assistance of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army—to hand it over to the Marsa Zayed project will be completed by the end of August.

Also in Aqaba, His Majesty chaired a meeting at ASEZA, attended by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, to follow up on a number of strategic transport and tourism projects.

The King called for preparing investment packages for investors to include concept notes, master plans and designs of the overall projects.

His Majesty also noted the importance of improving and diversifying the tourism product in Aqaba and promoting the Red Sea port city’s attractions to become a regional tourist destination.

During the meeting, Shraideh provided a briefing on a number of projects, including a railway project to link Aqaba port with Maan land port, which will be implemented over the next three years at a cost of JD265 million.