Jordan launches Aqaba smart city plan with Japanese input

• Memorandum of understanding signed
• Package of pilot projects planned
• Port records sharp increase in traffic

Jordan has launched a project to build a smart city at its southern Aqaba port with technical assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (Aseza) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with JICA, which has been involved in several development projects in Jordan.

The deal aims to launch a “comprehensive” smart city primary plan for Aqaba and implement a package of pilot projects across key sectors, Aseza said on its website.

“This project features smart governance and public administration, smart infrastructure, intelligent traffic and transport,” it said.

“Smart environment, tourism, economy, and energy, as well as disaster and risk management, and cutting-edge urban infrastructure figure high in this scheme, while the project implementation is set to begin in the first half of this year.”

Aseza chief commissioner Shadi Hindawi said the project is within the authority’s 2024-28 strategic plan for the development of the port and nearby areas.

He said it would improve life quality, enhance efficiency of urban services and boost Aseza’s readiness and relevant institutions to build smart urban projects in line with the best international practices.

Aqaba is the busiest port in Jordan and has acted as a transit route for gas supplies to Egypt through a floating terminal.

Business at the port recorded a sharp increase in the first half of 2025 despite persistent tensions caused by Houthi attacks on shipping.

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The number of vessels using the port in the Northern tip of the Red Sea last year jumped by about 65 percent to around 200 ships, port data showed.

Container activity also recorded a sharp rise, with the number of incoming and outgoing containers surging by 26 percent to about 295,000 from 234,000 in the same period.

In early 2025, Jordan said it would embark on a project to build a gas treatment plant in Aqaba at a cost of $125-$130 million.

Officials said the project has a processing capacity of 160 million cubic metres per year and that 50 percent of the project costs would be funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.