UAE and Jordan sign $2.3 billion deal to develop Aqaba rail link

Jordan and the UAE signed a $2.3 billion agreement to develop a rail project connecting the country’s phosphate and potash mines to the port of Aqaba.

L’imad Holding, the new sovereign wealth fund overseen by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed, will partner with multiple Jordanian entities to build and operate the 360-kilometer (225-mile) railway, with construction to begin in 2027.

Jordan’s Transport Minister Nedal Katamine said it was the country’s largest transport project in decades and one of the biggest in the region.

The deal highlights L’imad’s growing role in Abu Dhabi’s dealmaking, Bloomberg reports.