However, the challenge is no longer in possessing resources, but in converting them into added economic value. New industrial projects in Ma'an, especially those linked to phosphate conversion industries, can form the nucleus of a broader industrial derivative system. Their effects extend beyond direct investment to the establishment of small and medium-sized companies in maintenance, engineering services, logistics, and supply chain transportation, packaging, thereby multiplying the added value up to the construction of a local economic value chain through attracting major strategic projects.
Ma'an also has an exceptional opportunity in the clean energy economy. The abundance of solar energy and available spaces can support the expansion of renewable energy, linking it to industry and its direct impact on reducing production costs by lowering the energy bill, which constitutes a significant proportion of the total cost in the production of goods, thereby reducing the price and increasing the competitiveness of goods and products according to their nature, in addition to studying future opportunities in energy storage, green hydrogen, and low-carbon industries in parallel with government interest in this regard to achieve the vision of economic modernization and the executive program.
Moreover, the governorate's location allows for the development of its role as a logistics and supply chain center, linking production areas to industry and export through Aqaba. This opportunity does not only mean establishing warehouses and transport centers but building a specialized logistics system that serves industry, trade, and export.
Conversely, the circular economy represents a promising field that can give Ma'an a new advantage through investment in recycling, industrial waste management, efficient use of water and energy, and converting some waste into productive inputs for other projects, in accordance with technical and environmental requirements.
As for tourism in the governorate, which contains one of the wonders of the world, it can be a fundamental part of the local economy, not only by increasing the number of visitors but by converting tourism into a local value chain that benefits the community through accommodation, restaurants, transportation, local products, and environmental, cultural, and desert tourism.
However, the success of these sectors requires smarter developmental financing, and here the importance of developmental financing institutions emerges in transitioning from financing individual projects to financing value chains, benefiting small and medium-sized enterprises. This would open a wide door for participation in local economic development for the Governorates Development Fund, through financing tools directed towards sectors with added value, rather than just a traditional project financier.
Investment in human capital remains the most critical link; new projects will not achieve their full impact unless accompanied by training and qualification programs directly linked to investors' needs, preparing the governorate's youth for future jobs in industry, energy, logistics, and technology.
Therefore, Ma'an's future should not be built on exporting resources alone but on manufacturing them, linking them to energy, technology, and logistics, and expanding the private sector base around them by transitioning from a resource economy to a value economy, from a single project to an economic system, and from development based on spending to development capable of generating income, investment, and sustainability.
Then, Ma'an can transform from a governorate with promising economic opportunities into one of the most important production and investment platforms in the south of the Kingdom.
