Privatisation of Jordan electricity companies to go ahead

The Cabinet decided to begin implementing procedures to privatise two state-owned electricity companies. The two firms slated for privatisation are the government-owned Central Electric Generating Company (CEGC) and the Central Electric Distribution Company (CEDC).
While the government is planning to sell all its shares in CEDC, it will only sell 60 % of its shares in the CEGC, 9 % of which will be acquired by the Social Security Corporation.

Rothschild and Sons of Britain is helping the government study the best way to privatise the companies. The Council of Ministers decided to delegate Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Mohammad Halaiqa to reach a settlement with the Olympic Chartering Company over a legal dispute with the firm.
Also approved during the session, was appointing a technical consultant for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and a Jordanian-Egyptian firm to extend a gas pipeline currently providing the southern port city of Aqaba with Egyptian gas to power stations in the northern parts of the Kingdom.

An Egyptian consortium, grouping Egypt Holding Gas Company, GASCO, Petrojet and Emppi, is implementing the project through the Amman-based Al Fajr Company which groups Jordanian, Egyptian and Arab investors. The pipeline will be extended to Syria and Lebanon and, at a later stage, Europe.
During their weekly session, headed by Acting Prime Minister Mohammad Daoudiyeh, also minister of political development and minister of state for parliamentary affairs, the ministers appointed Samir Masarwah as the Kingdom's ambassador to New Zealand.