A new city in this country on a major highway, to be completed by 2050

To ease the congestion in the city, Jordan has decided to plan a new city in the east of the city.

The project to build the city some 30 kilometers from Amman was part of a drive to stimulate the economy and attract long-term investment, the government said in a statement published on the 5th of November.

The new city will be ‘environment friendly, sustainable and smart, would be built on a major highway that links Jordan to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The project was aimed at finding “drastic solutions to rising population density and traffic congestion” in Amman and the northeastern city of Zarqa, said the statement carried by the official Petra news agency. The project would “invest in clean and renewable sources of energy and water treatment” as well as provide affordable housing, the statement said.

The populated city of Amman is a home to four million people and Zarqa has 1.3 million, combined together the their population will reach 10 million by 2050.

The project would be built in 5 phases, the first one to be ready by 2030 and the last one by 2050.

“State institutions and ministries will be moved to the new city throughout the project’s various stages,” it added.

Cash-strapped Jordan hopes the project will attract private and foreign investors.

The tiny desert kingdom is devoid of natural resources and has been severely affected by wars in its neighbours Syria and Iraq with refugees from both countries seeking haven in Jordan.

The United Nations says Jordan is hosting more than 650,000 refugees from Syria alone, while the kingdom puts their number at 1.4 million.