The Council of Ministers approves draft laws, regulations, and decisions related to the National Water Carrier, energy security, energy consumption rationalization, supply chain sustainability, and support for farmers

*Approval of the decision of the Board of Commissioners of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority to grant the National Water Carrier project a set of facilities and exemptions within the framework of completing the procedures related to commencing the project's implementation.

*Approval of the underlying reasons for a draft regulation amending the regulation for connecting renewable energy sources facilities to the electrical system and exempting renewable energy systems and energy consumption rationalization for the year 2026.

*Approval of a number of measures to rationalize fuel consumption for government vehicles and machinery through electronic linkage and the application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) refueling technology.

*Approval of increasing the financial allocations earmarked for purchasing local grain crops of wheat and barley to 59 million dinars instead of 45 million, and increasing the quantities purchased from Jordanian farmers from 110,000 tons to 147,000 tons.

*Approval of a number of measures to enhance the operational capabilities of the port system and supply chains in the Kingdom.

*Approval of a grant agreement provided by the European Union worth 110 million euros to support economic and social modernization programs, within the framework of the strategic partnership between the Kingdom and the Union.

*Approval of two administrative organization regulations for the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, and approval of the underlying reasons for the administrative organization regulation of the Ministry of Health.

*Approval of two regulations for the bonus and savings fund for employees at Mutah University and the Hashemite University.

*Dissolution of the Board of Directors of the Chambers of Commerce effective from September 27, and tasking the Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply with submitting the names of the members of the chambers' management committees to the Council of Ministers in preparation for holding elections in accordance with the provisions of the governing legislation.

Amman, September 17 (Petra) - The Council of Ministers, in its session held yesterday, Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Jafar Hassan, approved a draft law amending the Independent Election Commission Law for the year 2026.

The draft law comes due to the need to update some texts in line with the legislative developments witnessed by the political modernization system, which enhances the Commission's ability to exercise its constitutional and legal competencies efficiently and effectively.

Under the amendments, Commission employees will be prohibited from joining any political party throughout their tenure to ensure neutrality, as the Commission is the body overseeing the registration of parties and monitoring their affairs. Additionally, it requires any Commission employee wishing to run for any election managed or supervised by the Commission to submit a leave without pay ninety days in advance, and in the event of winning the election, they shall be considered resigned by law.

The amendments also include updating the Commission's competencies and tasks in line with the Political Parties Law, and including digital campaign tools among the means monitored for compliance with the law, in addition to updating the regulations governing Commission employees and aligning them with the public sector human resources management system, which enhances institutional neutrality and raises performance efficiency.

The amendments provide greater clarity regarding the setting of polling dates for municipal elections and any other elections assigned to it by the Council of Ministers, in addition to regulating the authority to cancel or postpone polling at polling and counting centers when there are circumstances affecting the integrity of the electoral process, in a manner that ensures its proper conduct and preserves its integrity and transparency.

The Council of Ministers decided to approve the underlying reasons for a draft law amending the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law for the year 2026.

The draft law comes within the framework of continuing to develop the national system for combating financial crimes and enhancing its efficiency, in line with the national interest and the best internationally adopted practices and standards.

The draft law aims to keep pace with developments in international standards and practices in the areas of combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which enhances the efficiency of relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks and keeps pace with developments in the nature and patterns of financial crimes.

The project also comes in line with the government's approach to consolidating the rule of law and the integrity of the financial system by addressing organized and cross-border crimes, including terrorism and its financing, financial crimes related to corruption, drug trafficking, fraud, and tax evasion.

Within the framework of completing the procedures related to starting the implementation of the National Water Carrier project, the Council of Ministers decided to approve the decision of the Board of Commissioners of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority to grant the project a set of facilities and exemptions necessary to start implementing the project.

The decision comes within the framework of facilitating the necessary procedures to start implementing the project, which is the first of its kind, and which aims to desalinate 300 million cubic meters of seawater annually and pump it through pipes extending for about 450 kilometers to provide approximately 40 percent of the Kingdom's drinking water needs, forming a primary tributary in strengthening national water security.

The quantities of water that the project will provide annually are estimated at the capacity of all the Kingdom's dams, and approximately three times what the Disi project produces, as the annual per capita share will double from 60 to 110 cubic meters of water annually, and the number of water supply days will increase from one day to three days per week in all governorates of the Kingdom.

Within the framework of decisions related to energy supply security, the Council of Ministers decided to approve the underlying reasons for a draft regulation amending the regulation for connecting renewable energy sources facilities to the electrical system and exempting renewable energy systems and energy consumption rationalization for the year 2026.

The draft regulation aims to enable citizens and economic sectors to benefit more and more efficiently from renewable energy by allowing greater flexibility in self-generation, encouraging electricity storage, and rationalizing consumption, which enhances the feasibility of investment in clean energy, raises the electrical system's ability to absorb more of it, and at the same time maintains a stable and reliable electrical grid that serves all subscribers.

The draft regulation comes as a continuation of the progress achieved by the Kingdom in the renewable energy sector, whose contribution has reached about 27 percent of electricity generation needs, while the energy sector strategy for the years 2025–2035 aims to raise this percentage to 40 percent by 2035, which enhances reliance on local energy sources and reduces reliance on imported traditional energy sources.

The draft regulation also comes within a broader trend to enhance the position of renewable energy in the national energy mix and develop the electrical system's ability to absorb more of it in a safe and sustainable manner, in line with the strategic objectives of the national energy sector and enhancing the Kingdom's international commitments in the field of reducing carbon emissions and facing climate change.

The draft regulation grants citizens and facilities greater flexibility in meeting their electricity needs through renewable energy, while encouraging electricity storage and its subsequent use. The regulation also provides a clearer framework for the citizen and investor before making an investment decision in renewable energy by defining permitted capacities, connection mechanisms, and storage and energy efficiency requirements.

Expanding storage and energy efficiency systems also contributes to developing services related to the clean energy sector, including the design, installation, and maintenance of renewable energy systems and batteries, energy auditing services, and consumption rationalization solutions, which supports the development of local expertise and services in this growing sector.

The draft regulation was submitted after discussions with government and regulatory bodies, electricity companies, representatives of economic sectors, specialists, and investors in renewable energy, and based on a regulatory impact assessment, with the aim of encouraging investment and expansion in clean energy.

The results of applying the amended regulation will be subject to monitoring and evaluation through indicators that measure the expansion of renewable energy projects, installed electrical capacities, added storage capacities, and their reflections on the electrical system, provided that a comprehensive review is conducted three years after its entry into force to develop procedures, measure the extent of achieving its objectives, and evaluate its impact on electricity tariffs and the stability of the national electrical system.

In a related context, the Council of Ministers also decided to approve a number of measures to control and rationalize fuel consumption for government vehicles and machinery through electronic linkage and the exchange of data necessary to apply Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) refueling technology.

This step comes within a broader government trend towards digital transformation and enhancing data-based oversight, so that fuel disbursement operations become clearer and subject to monitoring and accountability, which reduces waste, raises the efficiency of government fleet management, and enhances the protection of public funds and the rationalization of operational expenses.

These measures require government vehicle users to record and monitor refueling operations electronically and automatically without human intervention.

The expansion in the use of this technology is based on a practical experience that has proven its feasibility; it has been applied to vehicles of several official entities, confirming the feasibility of generalizing it on a wider scale in the government sector.

The electronic refueling technology works by electronically linking the fuel filling process to the government vehicle itself, so that the fuel quantity and refueling data are recorded automatically, without interference with values and quantities, thereby reducing reliance on manual procedures.

The use of the technology is not limited to documenting refueling operations, but also allows for linking fuel data to the movement and actual use of the government vehicle, helping to compare the quantities of fuel consumed with the actual use of the vehicle, and detecting any abnormal or unjustified consumption more quickly and accurately.

This experience will be generalized to all ministries, official departments, public institutions and bodies, municipalities, joint services councils, the Greater Amman Municipality, and companies fully owned by the government, in order to unify the mechanism for controlling fuel consumption and increase the efficiency of oversight in various public sector institutions.

Within the framework of strengthening the strategic reserve of wheat and barley, the Council of Ministers decided to approve an increase in the financial allocations earmarked for purchasing local wheat and barley crops from the 2025/2026 agricultural season to 59 million dinars instead of 45 million dinars, in order to increase the quantities purchased from Jordanian farmers from 110,000 tons to 147,000 tons, for the purpose of strengthening the strategic crop.

This is the second time the government has decided to increase the financial allocations earmarked for purchasing local wheat and barley crops, as it doubled the amount last June to 45 million dinars compared to 19 million dinars last year, to purchase quantities of wheat and barley from farmers that were estimated at the time at approximately 110,000 tons, which is more than double the amount of the last season, which was 40,000 tons.

These decisions come in support of farmers and to encourage them to increase the areas suitable for cultivating wheat and barley crops, due to their strategic importance.

Regarding the sustainability of the security of supply for basic goods and materials, the Council of Ministers decided to approve a number of measures to address the operational challenges facing the port system and supply chains in the Kingdom.

The measures included increasing the grace period for national exports at the Aqaba Container Terminal from 7 days to 14 days for a period of 6 months, effective from this date.

They also included exempting taxpayers from paying the amount of 450 dinars as a fee for the destruction of goods for each ton or part thereof, so that the amount collected becomes 50 dinars for each ton or part thereof, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and for a period of three months, effective from this date, and in accordance with the conditions specified by the Council of Ministers.

These measures come as a continuation of previous measures taken by the government to increase capacity and flexibility, such as expanding storage yards and logistics centers, developing infrastructure and supporting logistics services, and preparing alternative corridors such as the multi-modal sea and land transport system to ensure flexibility and speed, in addition to accelerating customs clearance procedures, reducing the duration of goods stay, transferring part of the clearance to Amman Customs, and exempting transit trips operating at border crossings from the applicable number of trips for a period of three months.

They also included increasing the number of daily trips allowed for container transport trucks to 9 trips, allowing technically equipped trucks that meet public safety requirements to transport two 20-foot containers on one truck, and giving priority in handling, clearance, and exit to national food, imports allocated for the local market, and national exports, among other measures.

The decision comes within the framework of the government's efforts to enhance the readiness of Aqaba ports and the transport and logistics system in the face of the repercussions of regional conditions on shipping operations and supply chains, accelerate clearance and handling procedures, increase capacity, provide alternative supply routes, and support national exports, in a way that maintains the flow of goods to the Kingdom and reduces delay costs for the consumer and economic sectors.

All these measures directly serve the interests of citizens and the national economy by maintaining the regular flow of goods to markets, reducing waiting periods, and limiting additional costs resulting from delays, in addition to supporting national exports and trade movement, which enhances the availability of goods needed by the citizen and raises the efficiency and reliability of the Port of Aqaba as the main economic gateway to the Kingdom and a key hub for regional trade movement.

The measures taken by the government during the past period have contributed to achieving tangible results; the average stay of transit containers in the port decreased from approximately 15 days to about 12 days, and the average stay of local incoming containers was about 8 days, while the daily capacity of container exit gates increased from about 900 to 1200 containers, which contributed to easing the pressure on the port and the arrival of goods, especially food, to local markets faster and more regularly.

Within the framework of the strategic and comprehensive partnership between the Kingdom and the European Union, the Council of Ministers decided to approve a grant agreement provided by the Union worth 110 million euros to implement a multi-sector program through the general budget to support economic and social modernization programs.

The program to be funded includes three areas: economic governance, human capital, and the green economy, where the grant will be provided in two installments: the first worth 38.5 million euros at the end of the current year, and the second worth 71.5 million euros at the end of next year.

The program aims to improve the business environment, enhance public financial management, develop energy, water, and clean transport services, employment, and develop vocational and technical education and training, research, and innovation.

Regarding the legislation regulating the work of institutions, the Council of Ministers approved two bylaws for the administrative organization of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, and also decided to approve the reasons for the administrative organization bylaw for the Ministry of Health.

The bylaws come for the purpose of developing the administrative structures of the concerned institutions, enabling them to develop their tasks efficiently, govern their work, and keep pace with best practices in work.

Regarding the regulation of affairs related to Jordanian universities, the Council of Ministers approved two bylaws for the reward and savings fund for employees at the universities of Mutah and the Hashemite, with the aim of regulating the provisions of the reward for employees in these universities, and governing the work of savings funds and their management and all matters related to them, in a way that enhances the values of justice and transparency and the benefit of those entitled to them.

On another note, the Council of Ministers decided to dissolve the Board of Directors of the Chambers of Commerce effective from September 27 and tasked the Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply with submitting the names of the members of the chambers' management committees to the Council of Ministers in preparation for holding elections in accordance with the provisions of the regulating legislation.