Amman, Dec. 16 (Petra)- The Amman Group for Future Dialogues on Tuesday organized a discussion seminar titled "The New City (Amra): The History of the Idea and Its Future Visions," featuring a presentation by consulting engineer Sakher Dudin, who addressed the dimensions of the proposal, the criteria for site selection, and the future planning vision.
Dudin opened the seminar by posing two central questions regarding the need to establish a new city and the suitability of the Amra site for that purpose. He noted that urban planning is not a modern concept but rather an idea deeply rooted in history, citing historic cities such as Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo and Baghdad, which were planned centuries before they were built. Baghdad, for example, was established according to a circular plan, while modern Cairo emerged from Fustat, and Damascus had been subject to pre-Greek planning during the Aramaic and Syriac civilizations.
He explained that the selection of Amra was based on several criteria, most notably its proximity to the railway route coming from the Gulf states, expectations of population explosion in Amman and Zarqa, its distance of about 40 kilometers from Queen Alia International Airport, and its location in a central area where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia meet, in addition to the fact that the land is state-owned.
Dudin pointed to the availability of key assets in the area, including the Azraq Basin, which once enjoyed abundant water resources, as well as the potential for generating clean energy from wind and solar power. He said the area of the new city is estimated at about 500,000 dunums, of which around 42,000 dunums would be allocated to an international zone for conferences and exhibitions, in addition to a specialized sports academy and an entertainment city.
He noted that the population of Amman currently stands at around five million, compared with no more than 40,000 in 1920, stressing that Jordan has historically served as a refuge for Arab brethren, contributing to rapid population growth at a time when the capital’s infrastructure has been unable to keep pace with this increase, alongside rapid technological development.
Dudin said that about 50 percent of Amman’s area remains undeveloped and privately owned, explaining that the idea of establishing a new city dates back to the era of the late Wasfi Al-Tal, when a proposal was put forward to expand east of the railway line due to its vastness, openness and lack of natural obstacles, compared with the fertility of lands to the west.
He stressed that local engineering firms would be key partners in implementing the city, through designs based on smart urban planning, with streets oriented north to south and land plots directed toward the southeast, while taking environmental sustainability into account in water, energy and waste recycling. He added that the region’s hot, dry climate is more suitable than a hot, humid one.
The seminar featured an extensive discussion covering various aspects of the proposal, during which Dudin answered participants’ questions in a scientific manner, drawing on principles of contemporary planning and design for smart cities.
//Petra// AF
