His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday visited Madaba, where he met with local community representatives and dignitaries and inaugurated developmental projects.

King Abdullah inaugurated the Zaha Cultural Centre, checked on Al Nadim Public Hospital and placed the cornerstone of the Industrial Estate of Madaba.

His Majesty issued directives to the government to build a new hospital to replace Al Nadim Public Hospital, saying “I will lay the foundation stone of the hospital in 2017”.

Wisam Karadsheh said the existing 120-bed hospital struggles with a high turnout of patient and a subsequent service quality problem, the hospital’s director, adding that it receives 10,000 patients a month, which places all wards and the infrastructure under immense pressure.

The King stressed the importance of the industrial estate in the governorate and its role in creating jobs for residents, calling on the government to exert more efforts to attract investments without delay, and noting that residents “will see the first factory before the end of 2017”.

The industrial estate will be built on a 500-dunum land and is expected to attract, in its first phase 61 companies, with investments worth JD120 million, and generate 1,700 jobs.

As for unemployment in Madaba, which lies 30km southwest of Amman, His Majesty said that poverty and joblessness top all challenges that face the Kingdom, noting that there has been coordination with a factory in Theeban, which will offer 100 jobs, while agricultural projects such as a fodder production will be executed to contribute to job creation.

The King called on the government to form a team that represents all concerned agencies to follow up on projects planned for the governorate.

His Majesty stressed the importance of the rule of law, saying that his sixth discussion paper’s tackling of the issue was “clear, and it explains the challenges. Nobody is above the law and I ask everyone to act on that basis”.

On the US-Jordan relations, the King expressed optimism in the new leadership of the US.

His Majesty said that Jordan will host the next Arab summit to address the challenges that face the region, stressing that the high-profile meeting will be an opportunity to take action in the service of the Arab and Muslim nations.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh said that the King had directed the Royal Hashemite Court staff to implement several royal initiatives that complement the government’s plans in various sectors to serve the people of Madaba.

The initiatives include building 25 housing units for disadvantaged families in the governorate and rehabilitating the public parks of Azaydeh, Theeban, Bani Hamidah, Lib and Mleih.

The initiatives also included rehabilitating the urban park in Madaba by providing it with equipment, a traffic park and an electronic library, Tarawneh said, adding that several institutions and societies have been funded to implement small and medium family projects that target the local community, in addition to completing the military retirees club.