Abu Dhabi Fund Signs $2.3 Billion Railway Deal With Jordan - Bloomberg
A newly created wealth fund overseen by Abu Dhabi’s crown prince has signed a $2.3 billion pact for a railway project in Jordan, highlighting the role the entity is likely to play in advancing the emirate’s strategic relationships.
L’imad Holding Co. will partner with multiple Jordanian entities to build and operate a railway line connecting phosphate and potash mines to the port of Aqaba, according to a statement Wednesday. Work on the 360 kilometer (220-mile) project is scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed over five years.
“This is the biggest investment that Jordan has witnessed over the past 25 years,” the country’s minister of transport, Nedal Katamine, said by phone. “It’s the largest project concerning transport in Jordan, and among the largest ones in the region.”
L’imad’s involvement in the Jordan deal — an extension of a $5.5 billion agreement signed in 2023 — signals the central role the wealth fund is expected to play in Abu Dhabi’s dealmaking.
The fund shot to prominence late last year after joining influential Middle Eastern investors backing Paramount Skydance Corp.’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. In January, the Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed became chairman, after which the fund absorbed sovereign investor ADQ. Abu Dhabi has also folded into it the owner of McLaren Automotive and its stake in Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc.
Its board is stacked with senior Abu Dhabi executives, including chief executive Jassem Al Zaabi — described by some as among the emirate’s most influential non-royals — and wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co.’s CEO, Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
The $2.3 billion deal is also the latest indication that Abu Dhabi is willing to keep deploying capital despite a regional conflict that’s impacted key energy infrastructure across the Gulf.
The United Arab Emirates has been an ally of Jordan and its royal family, and views the country as a buffer against regional instability. Jordan, which borders countries including Israel and Syria, has faced an influx of refugees and conflicts on its borders that have strained its limited resources.
Katamine said the railway project would boost employment, cut transportation costs, strengthen the country’s competitive edge in phosphate mining and help make the Aqaba port “a gateway into Jordan.”
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