Dibbin Campaign A Win!

For all the nay sayers out there…eat your heart out…

Jordan Times: AMMAN �?? The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday proposed an alternate location for the construction of the JD100 million tourist complex in Dibbeen.

�??The ministry suggested the new site due to many reasons, remedy mainly because it believes that implementing the project in the new site will cause no environmental damage to Dibbeen Forest, capsule �?� Minister of Environment Khalid Irani told The Jordan Times yesterday.

Environmentalists have expressed concern over the ecological ramifications of the proposed 500 dunum complex �?? a joint venture by Jordan Dubai Capital (JDC) and the Social Security Corporation.

They say the infrastructure for such a complex, including the construction of roads, water pipelines, sewage networks and parking lots, would harm the forest, the southern-most natural pine forest in the world.

Irani said the ministry suggested a new site on the outskirts of the forest as it had its own reservations on the original location.

Less than one per cent of the Kingdom�??s total area is forested. The proposed project, lying adjacent to the Dibbeen reserve, would entail cutting down 160 trees out of a total 9,000, calculated after a topographic study was carried out by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature last year.

The minister said the new location was proposed as it is owned by the SSC and already contains infrastructure, �??which means if the project goes through, no trees will be cut and the company can make use of the construction already present and build on it.�?�

Irani said the JDC and the SSC had agreed to carry out an environmental impact assessment, which would take from a 30 to 45 days, to determine if the project could be implemented in the new site.

�??When the study is completed, and if it shows that there will be no damage to the environment, it will be referred to the Higher Regulation Council, which is the body to grant the go- ahead for the implementation of the project,�?� Irani said.

�??I believe this is a win-win situation,�?� he added.

Besides convention halls, chalets, entertainment facilities and therapeutic clubs, the project comprises a 500-bed capacity five-star hotel.

It is estimated that the project will create 500-750 job opportunities in Dibbeen, which is among the least economically developed areas in the country.