Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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5.5.5 Economic Profile
Established under the royal patronage in 2001, the Aqaba Special Task Force was constituted to
transform Aqaba into a leading hub for investors and tourists alike, combining business and
leisure. Over the past decade, ASEZ has made significant progress by positioning itself as a
leading hub for trade for the rest of the country and the region. Leveraging its physical attributes
and development vision, the zone has managed to carve out a value proposition in response to
the emerging market demand for leisure and industrial activities over the last decade.
The vision to develop Aqaba SEZ and facilitate economic reform within the Kingdom has been
successful with annual average GDP growth averaging 7% since 1999, which is more than
double the rate of growth (3%) which was previously recorded before the economic reforms
were introduced. Aqaba SEZ and Jordan’s five other SEZs have been key to this success and
particularly in their promotion of economic development, employment provision and FDI
incentivisation. It was recorded that between January 2001 and August 2013, Aqaba SEZ
attracted a total of 400 million USD in investment and was placed 20th in fDi Intelligence
Magazine’s ranking of Global FZs of the Future.109
Sectoral Focus
The 2001-2020 Masterplan outlines the key land uses to support the growth and development
of desired sectors and economic activities. The key development uses include: mixed use
commercial, residential and logistics; airport zone with logistics and storage; resort, leisure and
recreation zone; urban space; a specialised logistics zone and the southern industrial zone
including the port, industries and supporting logistics functions.
As far as the industrial land use in ASEZA is concerned, the current mix only partially reflects
the 2020 Masterplan ambitions and targets. While the tourism sector is over-represented in the
actual land-use mix, industrial land take is below the masterplan targets. These figures,
however, are indicative and it is expected that during the course of ASEZA’s development, the
disparity between the planned and actual may come down.
Key sectors/industries present in the zone include: Tourism, Heavy industries, light industries,
services, commercial, logistics/warehousing, transportation, education, health & environment.
The zone targets 50% of investments in the tourism industry, 30% in a variety of services, 13%
in heavy industry, and the remaining 7% in light industry. The charts below show the indicative
actual (left) and planned (right) land use mix.
109 MEED (2013) Jordan Economic Zones. Available from: