His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday made a surprise visit to the Karameh crossing on the border with Iraq and called for speeding up the facilities rehabilitation.

Touring the Karameh crossing, King Abdullah said facilitating travel and goods flow on the Jordanian-Iraqi border is “a top priority.”

The government, which is now rehabilitating the 14-year-old Karameh crossing under a JD600,000 plan, has recently floated tenders to build a new centre near the current location on 6.5 million square meters, according to Minister of Finance Bassem Awadallah.

Around 3,500 travelers, 600 small vehicles and 1,000 trucks cross the border everyday, according to official figures.

Earlier, King Abdullah ordered immediate measures to facilitate travel and customs procedures at airports and border crossings.