August 28, 2007

Jordan Gate

The traffic and parking congestions at the streets servicing the location of Jordan gate,
photo by Emad Salameh



The latest regarding the Jordan Gate towers:
  1. It's going up to 44 floors.
  2. The GAM were a partner but the current administration, lead by mayor Maani, withdrew from it due to the challenges to GAM and the "inappropriate" location.
  3. +50 applications for building towers in AMMAN.
Do you think that the GAM new administration could have done more than withdrawing from the project and sell their shares, since they knew the challenges and it's inappropriateness???
AMMAN - With the completion of the 34th floor of one of the under-construction Jordan Gate twin towers, the building is officially the tallest in Jordan now. The building, which weeks ago broke the 31-floor record set by Le Royal Hotel on the 3rd Circle, is planned to go up to 44 floors to become a landmark visible from every corner of the capital. The two towers of the $300 million project will be connected by a multistorey podium. An official supervising the construction said that a total of 60 civil engineers and 1,200 workers are working on the project, 70 per cent of whom are Jordanians.
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implemented by the Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH), the project started in 2005 as a strategic partnership with the Kuwait Investment and Finance Company and the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), which initially contributed the 28,500 square metres land before it withdrew from the partnership. Sharjah-based Al Hamad Construction and Development Company is the contractor. His Majesty King Abdullah on May 29, 2005 laid the foundation stone for the Jordan Gate project, the first phase of the $1 billion GFH’s Royal Metropolis plan. Jordan Gate will house executive offices, conference facilities, a five-star hotel and an array of retail outlets. But work has not progressed smoothly as hoped. In September 2006, work on the project was halted, when three stories of the north tower collapsed, killing four workers and injuring 15 others. A month earlier, a fire broke out in the 8th storey of the north tower, causing no fatalities or injuries. In September last year, GAM Mayor Omar Maani suspended works in the Jordan Gate project, citing the fact that the project started without proper licensing. Later, the municipality withdrew from the partnership and sold its 10 per cent stake to Kuwaiti Bayan Holding Company, which paid JD10.5 million for the shares. Maani said the project posed challenges to GAM, including its “inappropriate” location in the 6th Circle area, which was approved by the previous administration of GAM. The official from the Jordan Gate said that work is going ahead of schedule, despite the mishaps. He said that currently, the skeleton phase of a storey needs five days to be completed. The building will remain the only one in its category located in this part of Amman. GAM in February limited the construction of high-rises to four areas in the capital. The 6th Circle neighbourhood was excluded. Investors can choose from Abdali, Abdoun, Jubeiha and the airport road. The locations were identified as part of the first phase of GAM’s Amman Master Plan.
Road capacity, infrastructure, preservation of heritage, maintaining green areas and creating suitable spaces for pedestrians were the major considerations when the areas were selected. Last week, Dubai Construction Company announced that work began in its 34-storey Vertex Tower. So far, GAM has received more than 50 applications for towers to be built in the designated areas, according to GAM officials. Jordan Times 28 August 2007

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