A ceremony was held in Amman Tuesday to celebrate the completion of Jordan's Ma'an Industrial City project, which was built with Chinese aid. 

 

The project, which took more than two years to complete, is the second largest project undertaken with Chinese assistance, following the Al Hassan Sports City project in Irbid Province.

 

Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, who cut the ribbon at the ceremony, thanked the Chinese government for its help and called for enhanced cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

 

The opening of the Ma'an Industrial City is "an embodiment of the expanded friendship between Jordan and China," Chinese ambassador to Jordan Luo Xingwu said at the ceremony.

 

Under a deal between the two countries, the Ma'an Industrial City was built by a company from the Chinese Hubei Province and funded by 70.76 million Chinese yuan (US$8.78 million) of interest-free loans and donations from China

 

The project includes water towers, sewage plants, a drainage system, a power grid and a telecommunication network.

 

In recent years, the Chinese government has provided Jordan with more than US$8.6 million in low-interest or interest-free loans and donations, and has also helped train Jordanian technicians.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2006)