Sheikh Khaled and King Abdullah Launch $2.3 Billion Aqaba-Shidiya-Maan Railway Project in Jordan

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and King Abdullah II of Jordan attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Aqaba-Al-Shidiya-Maan Railway Project in Aqaba on October 5, 2026, according to The National. The project entails building a 403-kilometre, $2.3 billion transport network connecting the Port of Aqaba with the Al Shidiya and Ghor Al Safi mining centres, with about 55 bridges and six tunnels. It is designed to carry about 16 million tonnes of phosphate and potash a year, is expected to create about 5,000 jobs in southern Jordan and to cut mineral transport costs by around $40 million annually, and will replace a congested road and an old rail line currently used for these cargoes.

The railway is being developed by the UAE-Jordan Railway Company, a 50-50 joint venture between Abu Dhabi's L'IMAD Holding and a Jordanian consortium of Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, Arab Potash Company, Musahamat and the Social Security Fund. Construction is expected to take five years. The project follows an April 15, 2026 agreement, witnessed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, that set up the joint company; WAM described that agreement, which then cited a 360-kilometre network, as a natural extension of the $5.5 billion investment agreement signed in late 2023 by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and King Abdullah II. Enterprise reported, citing WAM, that financial close is expected in early 2027.

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The National, Sheikh Khaled and King Abdullah launch $2.3 billion Jordan rail link, October 5, 2026, thenationalnews.com WAM, Mansour bin Zayed, Jordanian PM witness signing of agreement to develop railway network in Jordan, establish UAE-Jordan Railway Company, April 15, 2026, wam.ae Enterprise, Aqaba gets its shot at becoming more than a port with incoming rail, April 16, 2026, enterpriseam.com Petra, Jordan, UAE Launch $2.3 Billion Aqaba Railway To Modernize Regional Trade, Logistics Infrastructure, April 15, 2026, petra.gov.jo