TRUCKERS' DISRUPTION HAVING MINIMAL IMPACT ON

UNCLAS AMMAN 010012

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ELTN EPET JO
SUBJECT: TRUCKERS' DISRUPTION HAVING MINIMAL IMPACT ON
TRANSPORT OF AQABA PORT GOODS

REF: AMMAN 9945

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.


1. (SBU) Jordanian officials say the Aqaba port is running
smoothly, despite a 18-day-old truckers' work disruption
capturing local newspaper headlines. According to Aqaba
Special Economic Zone Authority Commissioner of Revenue and
Customs Shadi Majali, about 1,000 to 1,500 truckers are
targeting only the Aqaba Container Terminal, now under
management of private A.P. Moller Terminals. Jordan has a
mixed trucking fleet of over 12,000 vehicles, including some
companies with 100-300 vehicles and numerous independent
drivers. Most trucks in the fleet can and do haul
containers; regulations controlling container trucks are not
enforced. The truckers' attempt to stop container trucks on
the main Desert Highway have been thwarted by a special
government order: containers continue to be loaded on trucks
given special dispensation to travel the Dead Sea highway.
By all appearances, just about all containers are making it
out of Aqaba Port. Majali said that over the last five work
days, the container port has successfully uploaded each day
450, 419, 545, 414, 354, and 361 container trucks, working
back from Saturday through Tuesday, respectively. He said
the average was only slightly below that before the truckers'
disruption.


2. (SBU) Other parts of the port -- loading trucks with
commodities, cement, livestock or oil -- are "going along
fine," said Majali. "Anything not with the container port
has nothing to do with it," he emphasized, and all such
trucks were getting through. Traders were not complaining,
he added. Majali said he believed some quarters were
"blowing the whole thing out of proportion." He said he
believed that the truckers' action was "breaking up."
According to a QIZ owner who joined a group meeting with
Prime Minister Faisal Fayez December 18, the PM appeared to
favor their arguments not to compromise on the exemption of
QIZ deliveries from the truck queue system, whereby any
trucker of any quality is assigned a load when the queue
ticket comes up. (COMMENT: This does not mean the truckers'
demand for a modified queue system might not be met, only
that the QIZs are not likely to be a part of any final
arrangement. The queue system is scheduled to be replaced
with an open-market system in September, 2005. END COMMENT.)
HALE