Mr Ahmad Tarawneh president of Jordan Construction Contractors Association said that developers of mega real estate projects owe local contractors tens of millions in outstanding payments.

Mr Tarawneh said that the amount exceeds JOD 200 million when the dues from public sector institutions are added. Some contractors might be forced to lay off staff if they do not receive payments in the short term.

He indicated that in addition to GAMA, the Turkish company carrying out the Disi Water Conveyance Project, developers of troubled real estate schemes such as Saraya Aqaba, Andalucia and the Abdali Urban Regeneration Project are indebted to local construction firms with over JOD 100 million.

He said that for the past 2 years developers have been promising to pay their financial obligations to contractors but nothing happened contractors were negatively affected by the delay or suspension in implementing these large schemes. The funds invested in these projects so far are the money contractors have borrowed from banks. As to outstanding government obligations public sector agencies owe contractors around JOD 100 million.

Mr Yahya Kisbi minister of Public Works and Housing of Jordan recently said that the government owes local contractors around JOD 50 million of which JOD 21 million is owed by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation’s related to the implementation of Amman Development Corridor Project.

(Sourced from Jordan Times)