SOFEX Spotlights Aqaba's Economic and Urban Development
Since being declared a special economic zone in 2001, the Jordanian city of Aqaba has undergone sweeping economic, urban, and tourism transformations that have reinforced its role as the kingdom's maritime gateway and an integrated hub for trade, industry, and logistics services. This transformation has been anchored in a royal vision aimed at capitalizing on the city's location and natural assets and creating an attractive environment for investment, alongside developing infrastructure and services and improving the quality of life.
Nearly a quarter of a century after the launch of this experiment, Aqaba has become a multifunctional city combining port, industrial, tourism, and service activities, alongside population growth and urban development.
Population growth is among the indicators of the success of the Aqaba development plan adopted by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority: the population of Aqaba Qasabah has surpassed 200,000, compared with around 70,000 in 2000, while the governorate's population is estimated at roughly 245,000, up from about 95,000 in 2000, according to data announced by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority at the end of 2025.
On the urban planning front, the zone's authority launched the updated master plan for the 2024-2040 period in August 2024, in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency ("JICA"). The plan covers land-use regulation, sectoral planning, smart-city applications, and disaster prevention, in addition to identifying capital projects that support sustainable development and green growth.
Upgrading the city's capabilities has also encompassed specialized healthcare services. On February 27, 2025, King Abdullah II inaugurated the King Hussein Cancer Center building in Aqaba, built at an estimated cost of 15 million dinars and spanning nearly 6,740 square meters. This joins 5 hospitals and 21 health centers, 4 of which provide comprehensive services, strengthening Aqaba's medical treatment role across the southern region.
In the tourism sector, the number of hotels rose by the end of 2025 to 101, offering more than 6,500 rooms, compared with 43 hotels and around 2,300 rooms when the city's development plan was launched. Aqaba welcomed nearly two million visitors in 2024. This strengthened the link between Aqaba and the region's world-famous filming locations in Petra and Wadi Rum, which in 2025 acted as a tourism driver that helped integrate the tourism appeal of the "Golden Triangle," combining beach, heritage, and desert.
In parallel, Aqaba is moving to expand its footprint in sports tourism through an international motor-racing circuit project designed to meet the requirements of "Formula 3" races and higher categories, alongside the Aqaba Equestrian Club project and horse-riding facilities. These projects are set to diversify tourism events and products, attract new visitor segments, and support demand for accommodation, services, and recreational activities.
In this context, the "Marsa Zayed" project represents one of the flagship tracks of waterfront development. Its first phase was inaugurated in January 2025 as part of a project aimed at developing roughly 3.2 million square meters for tourism, leisure, and residential uses. The announced components of the first phase include four residential towers, a residential complex, a hotel and hotel apartments, an old souk area, and the renovation of the port lighthouse, as well as a yacht club and marina and a cruise ship terminal.
The environmental dimension gained added significance in 2026 with the inscription of the Aqaba Marine Reserve on UNESCO's World Heritage List, in recognition of its natural value and marine biodiversity. While this recognition offers opportunities to boost ecotourism and scientific research, it simultaneously imposes a responsibility to protect marine ecosystems and regulate related activities. The natural resources that give Aqaba its tourism appeal constitute an economic asset that requires conservation, particularly as waterfront investment expands.
The ports and logistics sector stands out as one of the clearest indicators of this growth, especially as the number of ports rose from 8 in 2001 to 12 specialized ports with 30 equipped berths. During the first nine months of 2026, the Aqaba Container Terminal handled around 787,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, a 6.6% increase compared with the same period in 2025. Transit containers surged by 151.8% to roughly 116,000 containers, reflecting the growing use of Aqaba as a transit trade gateway to neighboring markets, particularly Iraq.
Handling volume in August 2026 exceeded the 104,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit mark across 58 vessels, after recording roughly 101,900 containers in July. Transit containers in August also surpassed 20,000, more than half of which were bound for Iraq. This activity gives the transport, warehousing, customs clearance, and support services sectors a regional role and additional opportunities for growth, strengthening linkages among ports, industrial zones, and regional markets alongside its role in serving the Jordanian economy.
In parallel, the city's industrial and training base has expanded. According to the authority's tally at the end of 2025, work was underway to develop six industrial zones in the Quweira district, along with four logistics zones and six logistics yards. Meanwhile, the number of companies registered with the authority reached 1,764, compared with 700 in 2014, generating more than 10,000 private-sector jobs since 2018.
These transformations are complemented by upgrades to transport infrastructure: King Hussein International Airport has been rehabilitated to accommodate all types of aircraft, with modernization works covering the passenger terminal, facades, operational systems, and baggage handling to raise its capacity. At the same time, the airport's management concluded agreements to operate direct flights to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and other destinations, boosting tourism and business traffic in the region.
The highway network linking Aqaba with the rest of the kingdom's governorates, border crossings, and neighboring markets has likewise seen a qualitative leap and comprehensive, continuous upgrades since 2001, coinciding with the declaration of Aqaba as a special economic zone and the establishment of the Aqaba Development Corporation in 2004. This network facilitates the movement of people and goods, reinforcing the integration of land, sea, and air transport.
The launch of the 15th edition of the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX) at the Aqaba International Exhibition and Convention Center (AIEC), inaugurated by King Abdullah II on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, underscored the city's growing role across economic, technological, and tourism dimensions. Notably, the event drew more than 400 official delegations representing 75 countries and 350 exhibiting companies from 38 countries, strengthening the city's standing as a host of specialized international events.
Hosting such events derives its economic significance from the demand it generates for hotels, transport, restaurants, and organizational services, as well as the networking opportunities it creates among participating institutions, companies, and delegations. It also helps diversify tourism activity, integrating business and conference tourism with beach, environmental, and cultural tourism, and supporting facility operations over wider stretches of the year.
Thus, Aqaba's experience reflects the capacity of planning and investment to broaden the city's economic function and link its urban development with its maritime, tourism, and service roles. Consolidating this transformation, however, depends on translating investments into sustainable jobs and better services, while ensuring that growth is balanced with the protection of the marine environment and the needs of residents. To the extent that Aqaba succeeds in striking this balance, its standing as Jordan's economic gateway and a regional hub combining business efficiency with quality of life will grow stronger.
Translated from Arabic with AI. Read it in Arabic