Incentives and Exemptions to Attract Investment in the Automotive Industry in the Zarqa Development Zone

Al-Taj News – The Cabinet decided at its session held today, Tuesday, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Jafar Hassan, to approve a package of incentives and exemptions to attract investment in the manufacture and assembly of automobiles in the Zarqa Development Zone.

These incentives and exemptions are linked to the size of the investment, the assembly or manufacturing operations that will be carried out inside the Kingdom, and the job opportunities that will be provided to Jordanians; thereby increasing local added value and enhancing the Kingdom’s competitiveness in this sector.

This approach comes amid regional competition to attract these high-value industries, and the trend of many companies around the world to expand the establishment of factories for the automotive sector and its assembly; which requires providing an investment environment and incentives capable of making Jordan a competitive choice for these projects.

The package is based on the principle that the incentive increases as the stages and volume of assembly and manufacturing carried out by the investor inside the Kingdom increase; therefore, full assembly or manufacturing projects (CKD) are granted greater incentives than semi-knocked-down assembly projects (SKD), encouraging the implementation of broader industrial operations and increasing local added value. Full assembly or manufacturing projects are required to have an investment of no less than $50 million, and semi-knocked-down (partial) assembly projects no less than $20 million, with at least 50 Jordanian workers employed in each project, according to Social Security records, and maintaining the continuity of their employment.