Khaberni - Special
Official data showed an increase in the estimated current expenses for the Aqaba Development Company, which was disrupted after the recent "winter storm," by about 4.4 million dinars for 2026, including 3 million dinars for salaries.
As monitored by Khaberni, the total employee compensations (known as salaries, wages, and resulting contributions of the company in social security subscriptions for its members) increased by about 2.8 million dinars.
This rise came to cover the normal annual increase in salaries, the cost of vacancies, new updated positions at the company, and other appointments.
Other current expenses also increased, focused on the retirement and compensations item by about 240 thousand dinars, slightly exceeding the total increase in the salaries item of over 3 million dinars.
After the recent "winter storm," questions arose in Aqaba about the company and its management, after the infrastructure and superstructure it manages failed to accommodate the rainfall, causing the main and only port in Jordan to be inoperative for many hours.
The Aqaba Development Company was established in 2004 and is a privately held joint-stock company owned equally between the Jordanian government and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, serving as the central development company for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone as part of the institutional and legislative framework to transform Aqaba into a special economic zone aimed at attracting investments in the tourism, entertainment services, professional services, logistics, and industrial sectors. The Aqaba Development Company has been tasked with developing the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, building and expanding necessary infrastructure and superstructure, and creating the necessary business enablers for the area and managing/operating its key facilities.
