From the angle of economic value, the real value of the project will exceed the direct revenue of the railways or the savings in transport costs. The project will lead to increased efficiency in the supply chain, raising the competitiveness of phosphate and potash, encouraging increased production, and stimulating new investments in the mining, industrial, and logistics services sectors, in addition to easing the pressure on the road network and reducing its maintenance costs. Here, an important economic point emerges. Economy does not raise its productivity only when it produces a larger quantity of goods, but also when it can produce, transport, and market the same good at a lower cost. Therefore, investment in transport infrastructure is fundamentally an investment in the productivity of the economy.
An important point is also represented by the project's capacity of 16 million tons annually. The first phase, which targets the transport of 13 million tons, means utilizing more than 80 percent of the design capacity from the start. This provides an important operational base for the project, with additional capacity that can be invested as production expands or other shipments are added in the future.
This leads to another dimension of the project related to the Port of Aqaba. The lower the time and cost required to transport the product from the production site to the port, the higher the efficiency of the entire supply chain. Hence, developing the railways can enhance Aqaba's position not only as a port for Jordanian exports, but as a regional hub for transport and logistics services.
If Jordan succeeds in completing the national railway network, the economic impact could be much greater than the current project. The goal in the end is not to establish a single line to serve phosphate and potash, but to build a transport system that can connect production areas, industrial centers, the port, and perhaps regional markets in the future. Here, Jordan's geographical location can transform from merely a geographical advantage into a real economic advantage.
As for the labor market, the project can create direct and indirect economic activity in the southern governorates approaching 5 thousand job opportunities in integration with the Ma'an Dry Port project. Of course, the impact on employment should not be measured solely by the number of jobs the project provides during construction or operation. There is a multiplier effect that can come from the expansion of mining, industry, services, transport, storage, handling, and maintenance, which are sectors that can benefit from improved infrastructure.
When looking at such large projects, the economic equation is simple in its essence: the lower the cost of transporting a good, the higher its ability to compete, and the higher the competitive ability, the greater the opportunities for expansion in production, investment, and export. From this perspective, the railway is not just an investment in transport, but a "major economic boost" for investment, productivity, and the competitiveness of the Jordanian economy.
