Ministerial committee to draft plan to overhaul transport sector

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday took several decisions related to transport, customs, patents and the environment, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Transport Minister Hussein Al Souob briefed the Council of Ministers on challenges that face the transport sector in the Kingdom and proposed solutions.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki stressed the importance of giving priority to the projects of the Maan-Aqaba railway, the Maan land port, and the Dead Sea-Ghor Al Safi-Aqaba railway for transporting passengers and goods.

Souob said that the ministry is keen on the provision of efficient, modern and safe transport means while safeguarding the rights of current suppliers.

According to the Jordan Traffic Institute’s (JTI) 2014 statistics, 102,500 traffic accidents took place that year, killing 688 people and leaving tens of thousands injured. Financial losses caused by these accidents were over JD239 million.

The total financial losses due to traffic accidents between 2005 and 2014 are estimated to be JD2.65 billion, according to the JTI.

The Cabinet decided to form a ministerial committee to draft a plan within one month that proposes priorities for the development of the transport sector.

Also on Sunday, the Cabinet approved a new customs tariff on 3D printers, and decided to exempt the printers from customs duties and taxes.

In another decision, the Council of Ministers approved joining the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which encourages supporting innovation and reduces the cost of patent filing by 90 per cent, Petra reported.

Joining the treaty does not entail additional costs on the Treasury and does not affect people’s rights, according to Petra.

In the field of environment, the Cabinet approved the mandating reasons for a draft by-law on regulating the import and producing of plastic shopping bags and their biodegradable materials.

The draft by-law will be referred to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau to be endorsed.

The measures came to curb the spread of plastic bags and their effect on the environment, according to Petra.