AMMAN — In collaboration with a Turkish company, the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) plans to establish a phosphoric acid plant in Al Shidiyah area of Maan, JPMC Chairman of the Board of Directors for Muhammad Thneibat revealed at a panel discussion on Monday.

Under the title "The mining and manufacturing sector in Jordan and its role in achieving the Economic Modernisation Vision”, the panel discussion was organised by the Jordanian Businessmen Association (JBA), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The phosphoric acid plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 165,000 tonnes of phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5), Thneibat said.

He also highlighted that the $85 million phosphate washing and flotation plant project in Al Shidiyah area, developed in cooperation with Ideal Advanced Manufacturing Company, is expected to enrich the Kingdom's phosphate exports, stimulate the national economy and generate no less than JD150 million in annual profits for the JPMC.

The project will also create around 250 direct jobs and at least 2,000 indirect jobs in the transport and logistics sectors, among other industries.

During the panel, Thneibat also drew attention to the JPMC’s policy and resulting progressive transformations in production, sales and profits. This policy has positioned the JPMC as the eighth-ranked power-player among the Middle East's top 10 industrial companies, and 71st among the region's 100 most influential companies in 2023.

The chairman added that the company's financial turnaround was "noteworthy", evolving from a JD90 million loss and a debt of JD440 million in 2016, to an impressive net profit of JD1.160 billion over the past five years.

The JPMC also contributed a significant JD226 million in taxes to the Kingdom's treasury last year, in comparison to JD101 million in 2021. Over the last five years, the company has paid JD369 million in taxes, alongside JD136 million in mining royalties, Thneibat said.

JBA President Hamdi Tabbaa noted that in 2020, the government launched a strategy and an interactive map for marketing mineral resources in a bid to appeal to investors, position Jordan on the global mining map and bring the mining sector's contribution to GDP from 7.7 per cent to 11 per cent by 2025.

According to Tabbaa, mines and quarries contributed JD791 million to Jordan’s GDP last year, reflecting a 2.9 per cent growth. Manufacturing industries contributed JD5.5 billion to GDP in 2022, with a growth rate of 3.3 per cent.

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