The Ministry of Regional Cooperation is set to submit for government approval a plan for the first joint Israel-Jordan industrial park to be built near Kibbutz Tirat Zvi in northern Israel and the Sheikh Hussein border crossing. The park is expected to be completed in 2015 with the help of an almost $50 million investment.
The park will include two sections: one on Israeli territory and one on Jordanian territory, connected by a 300-meter-long bridge. The industrial zone on the Jordanian side, Sha’ar Hayarden, already exists, and the Israeli portion will constitute an expansion of the project and offer direct, tax-free access to goods to businesses that will open there.
According to the CEO of Sha’ar Hayarden, Yuval Yaakobi, who spearheaded the project, “Our goal is to create a bubble of economic activity in which Jordanian, Israeli and international investors operate, which will contribute to economic prosperity and the preservation of normalization. While production for Israelis will be cheaper on the Jordanian side of the industrial zone, there are companies for which it will make more sense to operate on the Israeli side — like security companies that are not allowed to operate on foreign soil.”
Investment in the new park is likely to be divided between the state and investors. The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry is expected to invest $23 million in infrastructure, which will include the construction of the bridge and the paving of roads. Investors will direct an additional $23 million to preparing the area for construction.
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