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Beijing-headquartered firms China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China First Highway Engineering Company (CFHEC) have started construction work on the Aqaba-Al-Shidiyeh-Maan Railway project in Jordan.

The 403-kilometre rail network is divided into six packages. CCECC is executing packages one to four, while CFHEC is undertaking packages five and six.

The scope of work covers constructing railway tracks, about 55 bridges, six tunnels and related structures.

The project aims to link Aqaba with key mining and production sites and the Maan logistics zone, establishing an integrated system for transporting bulk cargo and containers between ports, production centres and inland logistics facilities.

The network is expected to carry around 16 million tonnes of phosphate and potash each year from production sites to Aqaba’s ports.

In April 2025, a French-Swiss joint venture of Egis and Arx was awarded the project’s design consultancy contract.

The estimated $2.5bn project is being developed by the Jordan-UAE Railway Company, which is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding and Jordanian entities including the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, the Government Investments Management Company, the Social Security Investment Fund and the Arab Potash Company.

Jordanian and UAE officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony held earlier this week to mark the formal start of construction work.

READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes: