Building the better picture

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From an outsider's perspective, it would seem that there is a major potential blot on Aqaba's otherwise sunny horizon. The global economic downturn has affected all countries, including the cash-rich GCC, and is therefore an issue that all developers in the region need to plan around.

With regard to the economic environment, Fakhoury is also keen to maintain a positive stance. He stresses that Jordan as a whole has benefited from the policies of a central bank that had in the past been criticised for its conservatism. Now, it seems, that conservatism is paying off, as the stock market and banking sector appear to have been hit less hard than elsewhere. The ADC CEO also believes that dips experienced by the country have been the least severe of any in the region, and puts this down to government's transparency over what provisions the banks have taken.

"From that point of view, Jordan now offers itself as an interesting alternative to the investor," Fakhoury adds. "It's safe, attractive, with good real estate prices, and overall it's a good time to accelerate and attract new investments. And what we've seen is a continuation of investment flow, with some clients even getting good bargains because our macroeconomy remains intact."

Generally speaking, Fakhoury believes that financing will become more difficult and that projects may need to add a little more equity to be successful. The Jordanian central bank has lowered interest rates in order to support increasing liquidity in the market, and ADC - on the instructions of the government - is offering investors flexibility by relaxing timelines for development and payment schedules, whether in terms of land purchase or leasing to allow them to restructure against the lack of liquidity.

"To be quite honest, the entire region's economy has been fast-tracked recently - so we can go from fourth gear to third gear, which can be healthy in terms of getting better investments and less cannibalisation among projects," Fakhoury indicates. "Within this crisis, there are therefore some positive signs; the global problems may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise both for the developers and the markets."

So despite the current difficulties in the global markets, the boom in investments over the last eight years should stand ADC in good stead in the near future. And for Fakhoury, the experience of running the Aqaba project has been an adventure.

"This has been a wonderful experience for me personally," he states. "In essence you have some of the greatest wonders of the world nearby, and we are also on a faultline for world trade. If you create the right opportunities in this kind of environment, it's not difficult to bring in investments. We are building on the historical role that the city has enjoyed and transforming it into a multimodal logistical value-added gateway that will provide benefits for the entire Levant region."

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