Letter to Marouf Bakhit on the establishment of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz City in Zarqa

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate,

Your Excellency Marouf Bakhit, the prime minister,

May God protect you,
Peace, God's mercy and blessings upon you,

It pleases us to convey to you and your colleagues, the ministers, our greetings and best wishes for continued success as you bear your responsibilities in the service of Jordan.

Our awareness of the volume of economic challenges and living conditions faced by the poor, and those with limited and low income, among Jordanians, has required that we prioritise the provision of a social safety network as a key factor in improving citizens' living conditions.

In this context, our attention has been focused on supporting in every possible way numerous initiatives to enable Jordanian families to own suitable, healthy housing. Primary among these were those initiatives which sought to provide suitable housing for the poor and those with limited income, as well as support for housing funds for military personnel, teachers and other public sector employees and land for judges, including sharia judges. These efforts and others have contributed, and will contribute, God willing, to improving the living conditions of citizens throughout the Kingdom.

In spite of all of this, our ambitions for Jordan have exceeded achievements over the past years. This motivates us to exert greater effort as we continue to build a brighter future for all Jordanians, men and women. We envisioned working within a clear strategy that focuses on expanding the provision of housing and infrastructural development so that every Jordanian family has the opportunity to acquire adequate housing within a safe, urban environment.

Being aware of the enormity of the challenges and the difficulty that this ambition entails, especially as it concerns the Zarqa Governorate, we were keen to approach these challenges from a strategic, long-term perspective that focuses on the construction of large-scale housing projects that would help us meet these challenges. Within this context, we issued directives to establish the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud City in the Governorate of Zarqa, which will be one of the largest housing projects in the Kingdom.

Since we are keen to provide every support for the establishment of this housing project, which will enable the sons and daughters of dear Jordan to own proper, safe, secure housing, we directed the government to donate the lands on which this city will be built in order to reduce the costs to citizens.

On this occasion, it is my pleasure to convey my gratitude and appreciation to my brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for his continued support to Jordan.

In order to ensure the success of this housing development, which is to be named after my dear brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, I ordered the formation of a royal commission, to be chaired by my brother, His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein, with the following dignitaries as members:

His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
His Excellency the Minister of Municipal Affairs
His Excellency the Minister of Public Works and Housing
His Excellency the Minister of Labour
His Excellency Yousef Issawi, advisor of the Royal Hashemite Court
His Excellency Dr. Salaheddin Bashir
His Excellency the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
His Excellency Akram Abu Hamdan, general commissioner of the Development and Investment Fund of the Armed Forces and the Security Corps
His Excellency Sahl Majali, president of the Contractors Association

The commission will supervise the housing city's establishment in all phases, coordinate among all the bodies concerned with establishing this pioneering project and deal with whatever difficulties the project may face. It will report periodically on the implementation of the project, to assure the completion of this important housing city as soon as possible and according to the standards to which we aspire.

We ask God Almighty, the Sublime, to preserve dear Jordan, and grant all of us success in serving our dear people, and providing them with all that they deserve in terms of progress and prosperity.

God is our Lord and our Supporter.

Peace, God's mercy and blessings upon you,

Your Brother,
Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein
Amman, 30 July 2007