Third round of compensation for flood-hit traders ready, awaiting legal procedures — ACC

AMMAN — The third batch of reimbursements for traders who incurred damages during last winter’s floods in downtown Amman are set aside and “ready”, but are awaiting the finalisation of legal procedures before they can be allocated, according to Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Khalil Hajj Tawfiq. 

This was in response to statements made by local news outlets that the reimbursement had been postponed which was “misleading”, as the date has not yet been set for distribution, Tawfiq told the Jordan Times on the phone on Thursday. 

Tawfiq said the first batch was distributed to over 150 traders and amounted to no more than JD1.5 million, and the second batch was issued to 22 traders. 

The ACC will be responsible for dispensing the final amount, Tawfiq told The Jordan Times last month, noting that the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has tasked officers from its financial team to expedite the process of reviewing the traders’ files.

In mid-August, GAM and the ACC pledged to reimburse the traders with a total of JD3 million; JD2 million of which would be supplied by GAM, and the remaining amount by the ACC.

In March, heavy rain flooded downtown Amman and caused “extensive damage”, prompting citizens to express their frustration over the country’s “poor” infrastructure.

At the time of the incident, GAM said that “unprecedented” rainfall had led to soil erosion in the capital’s Jabal Al Joufeh area and manhole closures in Quraish Street in downtown Amman.