King reiterates importance of land use plan
Jordan Times
February 22, 2007
AMMAN (Petra) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday reiterated the importance of the land use plan, part of the Amman Master Plan prepared by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM).
In a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, the Monarch stressed that the
plan was a major step to prepare a comprehensive and integral strategy to
regulate land use and to plan for future related services and development projects.
“We view the land use plan as a guide to determine the line of development
projects and regulate populated areas in all the Kingdom’s governorates and
cities,” the King told the prime minister in yesterday’s letter.
The Monarch emphasised the importance of the plan in directing investments
and preserving and promoting agricultural and natural resources.
He said the plan should conform to the country’s vision to provide the
necessary infrastructure to sustain the development process, draw and activate
investments, preserve the country’s resources and transform Jordanian cities
into models of modern design, planning and architecture.
The King’s directives were based on the results of the first stage of the
plan, which was announced earlier this week, and within the framework of the
government’s efforts to implement the second stage of the plan.
As the Kingdom includes several development areas that house tourist and
natural attractions, the King highlighted the need to arrive at clear regulations
and criteria on the use of land in areas such as Jerash, Ajloun, Umm Qais, Dana
and Wadi Rum.
The Monarch also reiterated the need to arrive at a clear mechanism to
regulate the development process in a manner that safeguards forests and other
natural resources and preserves the aesthetic value of these areas.
In addition, the King said these regulations and criteria should be included
in the policies and legislation that govern and regulate investments, while the
Ministry of the Environment will be entrusted with implementing these pieces
of legislation, in cooperation with the concerned institutions.
King Abdullah called for joint and integrated efforts to arrive at an
overall perspective on these regulations within two months starting now.
The Amman Master Plan is a response to the tremendous growth the capital has
witnessed over the past several years. The population increase, coupled with
limited infrastructure and planning has led to haphazard expansion,
according to the GAM website.