Abu Dhabi Fund for Development opens five colleges in Jordan

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has inaugurated five colleges in Jordan which were built with an ADFD funding of Dhs80.3m.

The two buildings for the College of Commerce and the College of Engineering at Albayt University in Al Mafraq were built at a cost of about Dhs40m. A building for the Nursing College was also inaugurated, in addition to a project to construct and equip a building for the Energy Research and Studies Centre at Al Hussein bin Talal University in the city of Ma’an. The projects are to be carried out at a total cost of Dhs22m. A building of the College of Pharmacy at Mu’tah University in Karak, which was developed at a cost of Dhs18.3m, was also inaugurated.

Professor Dr. Hani Al Damour, president of Albayt University, said that the UAE’s grant disbursed through ADFD enabled the university to construct the buildings for the College of Commerce and College of Engineering. He said that it has helped extend student capacity by 10,000. He also noted that the two projects, which occupy approximately 20,000 square metres of area, include facilities such as classrooms, auditoriums and laboratories.

Professor Dr. Atef Al Kharabsheh, president of Al Hussein bin Talal University, said that ADFD’s funding has enabled the university to complete the second phase of its expansion, while the projects helped develop the university infrastructure, improve capabilities to better serve local communities as well as students and researchers.

Professor Dr. Arafat Awajan, president of Mu’tah University, noted that ADFD funded three colleges, in addition to the recently inaugurated College of Pharmacy building, all of which led the colleges to improvement their performance and obtain the Jordanian Quality Certificate, in addition to boosting academic standards and introducing master’s programmes in pharmaceutical sciences. The project consists of four floors covering an area of more than 10,000 sq m and contains several classrooms and laboratories, as well as three auditoriums.

Dr. Atef Al-Kharabsheh, President of Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, confirmed that the financing of #ADFD helped develop the university infrastructure, improve capabilities to better serve local communities as well as students and researchers pic.twitter.com/0Q0m6AkIEY

— صندوق أبوظبي للتنمية (@ABUDHABI_FUND) March 22, 2022

The latest initiative is part of the Jordanian Public Universities Development Programme that includes the implementation of 27 projects in the education sector at a total value of Dhs466m to boost the education sector, according to news agency WAM.

ADFD funded projects in various strategic sectors such as energy, transport, water and agriculture, health, and education.

These projects were financed from the Dhs4.6bn the UAE allocated to Jordan in 2012 as part of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) to support the Jordanian government’s efforts towards sustainable socioeconomic development.

“ADFD has maintained strategic relations with the Jordanian government for more than four and a half decades, actively financing strategic projects to create positive impact on Jordan’s economy. TThe establishment of the colleges through the ADFD-funded Public Universities Development Programme reflects our keenness to advance Jordan’s education sector through construction of buildings, provision of facilities of international standards at universities, enabling more people to study in different disciplines, and fulfilling the requirements of the labour market,” said Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

Since 1974, ADFD has funded various strategic projects in Jordan with a total value of about Dhs6.5bn.