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Under the patronage of H.E. Nader Dahabi, Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) and Saraya Aqaba have signed an agreement, valued at $60 million, to develop an employee housing compound for the employees of Saraya Aqaba.
This project, located within the Aqaba Northern Housing Village, comes as part of ADC's efforts to establish labor housing villages, which will provide comfortable and secure accommodation for the thousands of laborers working on the numerous commercial, residential and tourism projects currently under development in Aqaba.
The agreement was signed between H.E. Eng. Imad Fakhoury, ADC Chairman and CEO, and Mr. Shadi Ramzi Al Majali, Saraya Aqaba General Manager.
Saraya Aqaba will purchase 88 dunums of land from ADC to establish the labor housing village as well as all supporting services for the residents of this project. Saraya will submit a timetable for the project and all its key stages, including the primary sketches, within 90 days.
Eng. Fakhoury said, "Together, ADC and ICON architects finalized the comprehensive master plans for two housing villages, located in the northern and southern parts of the ASEZ, to accommodate workers and employees who are going to be involved in the numerous projects taking place in Aqaba." He went on to say, "The Northern Village will have the capacity to house 20,000 residents, with a total area of 780 dunums. The Southern Village will encompass an area of 1120 dunums with a capacity to accommodate up to 30,000 residents. Both villages will include all the necessary health, educational, entertainment and other supporting services for its residents."
Eng. Fakhoury added, "Today's agreement was signed for the purpose of establishing a housing compound within the Northern Village for Saraya employees. This venture is the first of many to come that will contribute to the development of the city and support ongoing projects in Aqaba."
The housing compound will include residential buildings, sports facilities, restaurants, an internet café, a clinic, a supermarket and entertainment facilities. The supporting services for the project will include laundry and dry cleaning, a central kitchen, a bakery, car maintenance shops, storage facilities and training centers.
On his part, Mr. Al Majali said, "This project stems from Saraya's commitment to ensure a quality standard of living for its employees, which is sure to reflect positively on their performance," adding that Saraya Aqaba "will create about 3,000 job opportunities during the development stage and another 6,000 jobs once it is completed. This vital project would not have translated into reality if it wasn't for ADC and ASEZA's continuous cooperation and support."
ADC launched the first housing compound in the northern area of Aqaba in early 2007, providing suitable housing for Saudi Oger employees working on the construction of Saraya Aqaba.
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