SSC’s Investment Unit pumps over JD1b in privatisation schemes

Participants in the second annual Public-Private Partnerships Middle East and North Africa Summit addressed government privatization policies, programs and projects in the pipeline.

Several keynote speakers spoke of the Kingdom’s reform programs which seek to propel economic development and ameliorate living standards.

Industry and Trade Minister Amer Hadidi highlighted government legislative and administrative reforms as well as efforts to increase the private sector’s contribution to the development process.

The minister said the gross domestic product grew last year by around 12.3 per cent, compared to 9.8 per cent in the previous year as a result of increasing reforms.

In 2007, foreign direct investments reached $5 billion, the Kingdom’s foreign currencies balance amounted to $7 billion and exports totaled $4.5 billion, the minister indicated.

Moreover, the government has succeeded in privatizing several ventures, channeling around $2 billion in revenues. It also managed to draw around $1.5 billion worth of foreign investments.

Speaking about challenges hampering Jordanian economic conditions, Hadidi mentioned unemployment and inflation which continue to be high, underlining the role that the private sector can play in this regard.

Mufleh Aqel, president of the Social Security Corporation’s Investment Unit, highlighted the unit’s projects and assets during the second day of the summit, which was inaugurated on Monday by Prime Minister Nader Dahabi.

The unit has invested over JD1 billion in privatization schemes, said Aqel, underlining the importance of public-private sector cooperation.

The Unit is also examining the chance of benefiting from other future privatization schemes, in the electricity, transport, industrial and water sectors, he added. Underlining the role of the private sector during the inauguration ceremony, Dahabi said the government wants the private sector to finance and implement vital infrastructure projects and provide high-quality services to the public at fair prices. Describing Jordan's experiment in the public-private partnership, particularly in the privatization field as a model that deserves to be followed, the premier recalled past government efforts to give the private sector a more active and important role in the development process. Executive Privatization Commission Chairman Abdul Rahman Khatib said the government's adoption of the private-public partnership should open the way for the private sector to take part in several investment projects in the coming few years without having to seek external loans.