GAM to spend 5 million/KM on "Poor's railway" instead of BRT!

via alrai newspaper

عمان - محمد الدويري - قال مدير دائرة النقل والمرور في امانة عمان السيد عبد الرحيم الوريكات ان الامانة تعتزم انشاء نوعين من سكك الحديد في عمان اولها خط النقل السريع وموقعه داخل الجزيرة الوسطية والاخر خط سكة اما يكون فوق الارض او تحتها بحسب الدراسات.
واضاف الوريكات في تصريح لـ''الرأي'' ان الامانة ستطرح خلال شهرين عطاء الدراسات والتصميم للمشروعين الذي تصل كلفة الاول 5 ملايين دينار لكل كيلو متر فيما تصل كلفة الاخر 20 مليون دينار لكل كيلو متر.
وبين الوريكات ان خط النقل السريع الذي يطلق عليه ''سكة الفقراء'' سيكون ضمن مسارب خاصة تأتي في الجزيرة الوسطية للشارع وستمتد المرحلة الاولى من شارع الجامعة الاردنية الى المحطة فيما تشمل المرحلة الثانية شارع الاميرة بسمة وثم يربط الدوار الخامس باشارة وادي صقرة ثم المدينة الرياضية.
اما مشروع سكة الحديد، قال الوريكات ان السكة ستمتد من وسط البلد الى المحطة وشارع الملك حسين ثم شارع سليمان النابلسي و شارع شاكر بن زيد الى اشارات وادي صقرة

Important Note: Apparently, Al-rai's reporter missed things up, and the GAM will be implementing BRT in Amman. DETAILS HERE

In short, the Greater Amman Municipality is planning to build a couple of urban railway tracks in the capital, the 1st will be similar to a tramway (if not actually one) in a separate lane in the middle of the streets, and will be called "Poor's railway" and will be connected Al-Mahatta to University of Jordan, and later extended to the 5th circle via King Abdulla Gardens.

The 2nd project will be an underground metro (& maybe onground in some areas) from Al-Mahatta via downtown and Wadi Saqra street to King Abdullah Gardents.

I'm very much into the 2nd project, especially that the area is narrow & needs such a project.

But i don't understand this "Poor's railway / tramway" thing!
1st of all is the name! which is SOOOOOOOOO underrated for such an important and dynamic project. and its not only me mentioning that!

While on the other hand, the HUGE cost of the project raises a big question mark! 5 million JD / KM is a HUGE amount of money. and instead of having all the mess from such a project, and all the years needed to implement it (& the glitches taken from the zarqa light railway project that didn't see light until now), and all the money to spend.

A small simple rapid solution can be implementing BRT instead!
BRT: Standing for "Bus Rapid Transit" is a broad term given to a variety of transportation systems that, through improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling, attempt to use buses to provide a service that is of a higher quality than an ordinary bus line.

Thus, we can make the same lanes, but with asphalt instead of a railway, with the same stations and ticketing and so ... & have Big Hybrid buses running through it.

& there you go, the entire project done in a couple of months, and with the cost of 2 KMs or less! & pretty much easily extensible.
Like this!

& the buses can be even as big as this!


and the web is just FULL of BRT plans .... here are some blogs even!

Spin FM shows grid .. EXCLUSIVE!

This is EXCLUSIVE guys! only here on n@simjo .. and they're all starting ... today!
I bet the guys from Communicorp will kill me for this :D

Weekdays shows will be:

Breakfast Espresso with Tamer Bataineh: 7-10
Spin@Work (with 100 Spin Hits in a Row! Love it!) with Hasan Hijjawi: 10-16
Zoo Crew with Lena Ghannam (Yup! the Pulp girl!) and Mosaab Mustata: 16-19 (starting after ramadan)

While weekends will have a special grid as well:
The Late Late Breakfast Show with Emile Haddad: 10-13
and
The Weekender with Tamim Suyyagh: 16-19
The Juice with Hasan Hijjawi (Fridays): 19-22

Spin FM Jordan starts talking!

Spin FM Jordan, and in less than 1 month from starting, Spin FM debuts its 1st radio show on air!

"The Spin Morning Espresso!" is now on AIR! with .... guess who! Yes,!!! the man with the master plan, the crazy morning guy: TAMER BATAINEH! Weekdays 7-10 AM


Yes! he is doing all his crazyness on air!
Yes! he is playing ALTERNATIVE MUSIC on AIR! and even, new HITS from those geners of music (some no one in jordan is playing!)
Yes! Tamer Batayneh is on the jordanian airwaves again :)

More on CMTC's fake financial reports.

Commenting on yesterday's post, which was a quoted economic analysis made by Mr Hasan Al-Shobakee, from Alghad newspaper about the financial situation of the CMTC (The Comprehensive Multiple Transportation Company), the major urban public transportation operator in the capital Amman, and which was branded lately as “autobus”. And no, i didnt forget to link it to autobus.jo, its just that the domain name advertised on the buses never was and still, a domain without an operating website.

A lot of financial issues were published in the article, summarizing here in English (since the article was in Arabic) some of the facts that the company's financial report, made by Amwal invest, was a complete fake out for the actual company situation, the entire set of numbers was different in the Social Security Dept's assessment report according to which the Social Security Dept withdrew from the company (considering the tight relations between Amwal Invest and the major owners in CMTC – Abu Khader Automotive).

So, from personal loans thrown on the company's budget, even to loans taken for buses maintenance and rehabilitation (which wasn't even used), to the “Convema” (a non existing brand) buses that where but from another company by AK automotive which has build the buses at the Free Zone upon Mitsubishi Canter pickups chases and engine with over 71,000 JD bus each, with a total of 1.07 Million JD, financed in leasing by AK automotive's own leasing company. Even though those buses dont even cost 40,000 JD (a number estimated by the Social Security Dept in their report apparently), especially since we are talking about low quality materials, plastic windows, and no safety dotations (not even ABS, a fact that those buses were made by the company at the free zone in 2004, and not allowed to be soled inside Jordan because of this fact!). And finally to the fact that the CMTC acquisition of Asia Transport Co was made with 18.9 million JD, which the actual amount didn't exceed 7.7 million JD!

With an end of the story regarding the introduction of CMTC in the Amman Stock Exchange earlier this year, where it was said that stocks were sold with 18 million JD in this introduction, while the actual amount was 8 million JD. That is after both, their attempt of faking out financial reports as above failed in attracting people to buy the company's stocks, as well as the image makeover of their buses and branding them as “autobus” didn't get that much success, a an external makeover in which they attempted to hide the bad quality of service and miserable situation of the buses.

Since about the bad quality service i have already talked several times and can keep on talking. This time i want to give out a small random sample of observations on what is more hidden and away from the eyes of my dear luxury car drivers and riders.

Photos are from my own collection, as well as courtesy of Ehab Hakawati and Ro'a Eliwat. and those are just a small sample of what our eyes catch daily!


The marked is the convema buses mentioned above


Most of the buses have tight spaces for passengers, due to the fact that the company squeezes more rows of seats than the actual number


No Comment


and of course, in a rush hour, where the bus is almost full on feet as well, imagine standing beside a door with a broken window!


Some Digital displays are not working at all


while others are broken despite being new! and you can only guess on what route this bus is moving, and talk with the driver sign language!


and lets not forget the miserable hygienic situation inside the buses

Radio Guide Update: Mazaj FM on 101.7 FM in Irbid

Mazaj FM started broadcasting in irbid on 101.7 FM earlier this month.

This is the 1st frequency for Mazaj FM and seagulls in general outside the Greater Amman Area. and this will add some change on the radio scene in the northern jordanian city of irbid, since Mazaj FM is a differently themed radio station than the other operating ones in Irbid area.

أمانة عمان تكتشف "فضائح" المتكاملة للنقل المتعدد

هذا المقال تم نشره البارحة في جريدة الغد، كتحليل إقتصادي للسيد حسن الشوبكي، و تم نقله كما هو:

امين عمان يحول "خلافا " بين الامانة والشركة المتكاملة للنقل المتعدد الى التحكيم، ويعهد بالتحكيم الى وزير الصناعة والتجارة السابق شريف الزعبي. خبر مقتضب نشر مؤخرا في صحيفة يومية .. بيد ان القصة الكاملة للشركة المتكاملة تستوجب التحويل الى قضاء اكثر تخصصا على اثر ما كان يجري

فيها خلال العامين الماضيين، اسوة بالقضايا المماثلة التي تم التعامل معها بالطرق القضائية الصحيحة، بوصف الشركة مساهمة عامة ارتكب فيها ما يمس الحقوق وما يؤشر على ضياع الاموال وتكبيد الشركة خسائر تكشفها ميزانيتها للعام الماضي.

تداعيات ما حدث في الشركة المتكاملة للنقل المتعدد – مساهمة عامة برأسمال 20 مليون دينار – كشفت من خلال تقريرين متناقضين حيال وضع الشركة المالي، الاول اعدته شركة "اموال انفست" والتي يرأسها هنري عزام والثاني اعدته دائرة تمويل المشاريع في الهيئة الاستثمارية التابعة للضمان

الاجتماعي، وكان التقرير الاول اعد في منتصف الشهر الاخير من العام 2006 وذلك لتقدير السعرالعادل لسهم الشركة لغايات الشراء.

تقرير "اموال انفست" يكشف تباينا واضحا واختلافا في الايرادات الفعلية للشركة المتكاملة وارباحها واوضاع الباصات فيها، علما ان رئيس اموال انفست هنري عزام يشارك في عضوية مجلس ادارة " المتكاملة "، وفي مقابل ذلك يقدم تقرير الهيئة الاستثمارية صورة اكثر سوداوية لواقع الشركة المالي والاداري.

وتشير البيانات في ميزانية الشركة المتكاملة للعامين الماضيين الى ان الشركة زادت التزاماتها خلال الشهرين الاخيرين من العام 2006 بمبلغ اضافي قدره 4.6 مليون دينار لترفع التزاماتها بذلك الى 8.6 مليون دينار، وهي التزامات فيها الكثير من الذمم الشخصية على رئيس مجلس الادارة جورج ابو خضر على النحو التالي: قرض بمبلغ مليوني دينار من بنك الاتحاد لتسديد جزء من شراء شركة اسيا، قرض بمبلغ ربع مليون دينار من بنك الاتحاد لاعادة بناء وصيانة باصات الشركة لكنه لم يستغل، وذمم اخرى على رئيس مجلس الادارة جورج ابو خضر.

ويكشف تقرير الهيئة الاستثمارية انه بالاضافة الى اقتراض رئيس مجلس الادارة بموجب اسم الشركة المتكاملة لتملك شركات شقيقة، فإن الشركة المتكاملة اشترت 15 حافلة من نوع " كوفيما " بمبلغ 1.07 مليون دينار من الشركة الشقيقة والتي كانت تملك مصنعا لتصنيع الباصات في المنطقة الحرة وتم التمويل عن طريق شركة شقيقة اخرى وهي المتكاملة للتاجير التمويلي وبمعدل 70 الف دينار لسعر الباص الواحد، علما ان سعرالباص كما يؤكد تقرير الهيئة لايتجاوز 40 الفا وبمواصفات افضل.

في ذات الشأن المالي، فان ميزانية الشركة للعام الماضي تظهر خسائر متراكمة بحجم 1.9 مليون دينار، كما تظهر البيانات المالية التي اعدت لتنفيذ صفقة بيع السهم بسعر 1.6 دينار للسهم الواحد ان الثمن الفعلي لبيع الاسهم بلغ نحو 8 ملايين دينار وليس 18 مليون دينار وهو ما يدعو الى التساؤل عن سبب ادراج مبلغ الشهرة في الميزانية ورفعه الى 11.3 مليون دينار.

وقد كانت الشركة المتكاملة قد قامت في نهاية عام 2006 بشراء كامل حصص الشركاء في رأسمال احدى شركات النقل مقابل مبلغ 18.9 مليون دينار والتي تمت على اساس صافي حقوق الشركاء لتلك الشركات والبالغة 7.6 مليون دينار بحيث تم اعتبار الفرق البالغ 11.3 مليون دينار شهرة ناتجة عن شراء كامل حصص رأسمال تلك الشركات.

تفاصيل " المتكاملة " ليست عادية او طبيعية او حتى قانونية، ويسجل للفريق الذي درس اوضاع الشركة من الهيئة الاستثمارية قيمة الملاحظات التي وردت في التقرير وكانت سببا في عدم الشراء لاحقا، وهو ما يجعل الكثير من التساؤلات تثور جملة واحدة بعد قرار امين عمان المهندس عمرالمعاني تحويل الخلاف بين الامانة التي تملك 20 % من الشركة وادارة المتكاملة الى التحكيم.

من اهم الملاحظات والتساؤلات في هذه القصة يكمن التساؤل عن سبب عدم وقف المعاني لتلك التجاوزات بعد علمه ومعرفته بما كان يدور في اروقة الشركة المتكاملة ودهاليزها، وابلغ من ذلك، التساؤل عن الجهة القانونية التي من المفترض ان تقدم استشارات قانونية للمعاني وهي ذات الجهة التي تأخذ اتعابها بالدقيقة، واخيرا ، كيف يمكن فهم تحويل التحكيم الى مكتب شريف الزعبي، علما بان الزعبي كان وزيرا للصناعة والتجارة خلال تسجيل تلك المخالفات في الشركة، وكان حريا ان يتم كشفها في عهد الوزير وبموجب مسؤوليته وبحكم موقعه انذاك، حتى لا يتكرر ذات المشهد في هذه الشركة اوفي أي شركة مشابهة من الشركات المساهمة العامة.

وثمة معطيات تؤشر على وجود مخالفات ذات طابع كبير وتبعات قانونية اكبر من ان تعالج في اروقة القضاء المدني او التحكيم، ولعل من ابرزها ان التقرير المالي الذي اعدته شركة اموال انفست يقدم رواية وردية للشركة لا تؤيدها رواية فريق الهيئة الاستثمارية ولا تؤيدها ايضا ما الت اليه

الخلافات بين امانة عمان ممثلة بعمر المعاني عضو مجلس ادارة الشركة المتكاملة وبين الشركة ذاتها، مع تجديد التساؤل عن قانونية اعداد تقريراموال انفست من عدمه، وهي التي يشارك رئيسها هنري عزام في عضوية مجلس ادارة المتكاملة.

ومن الغريب جدا وغير المقبول ايضا ان توظف اموال شركة مساهمة عامة لتمويل مشاريع خاصة لاصحاب رأس المال فيها ، وهذا ما جرى العمل عليه في تلك الشركة ، اذ لا يعقل ان يقترض اصحاب رأس المال من شركة لتمويل استثماراتهم فيها، واين مراقبة الشركات في وزارة الصناعة والتجارة من كل هذا، ام ان مراقبة الشركات تكتفي بحضور اجتماعات الهيئات العامة وتنفذ دورا شكليا لا علاقة له بما يجري داخل الشركات من مخالفات او انتهاكات.

قصة المتكاملة يجب ان تكون على طاولة القضاء المختص بهذا المستوى من المخالفات لا ان يجري لملمتها وكأن اموال الشعب والضرائب التي تدفع لا قيمة لها، ويتصرف به أي كان في الشركات المساهمة العامة، التي تشير الوقائع الى انها ابعد ما يكون عن عين الرقيب.

لا أدري ماذا أعلق على ذلك، أنا شخصياً أعرف بالعديد من هذه الأمور و النقاط المذكورة، و لكن ليس بالأرقام كما هو مذكور. على كل حال، قد أقوم بالتعليق على ذلك في بوست آخر لاحقاً

My comments are available in a separate post, here

Energy FM, killed or resurrected!?

Energy 97.7 FM, the radio station which was lunched just at the beginning of this year, & which started a couple of shows (& not even all the promised and promoted shows yet), was put ON hold by the Al-Kawn's Management!

Apparently, this was the reason behind stopping the shows during ramadan on the airwaves of the radio station, in a period while other radio stations around jordan, both arabic and english speaking. are trying to enrich their programs grid!

Apart from the fact that this hang is doubting the station's position in the market, which, as observed, couldn't really attract that much advertisers even before this hang! & they never even reached 10% of Play FM and Beat FM's weight in the market!

associated with this sudden stop, came the resignation of Adrienne Denaro, Co-Host of the Morning Fix and the station's program manager! & there rumors around about some change in style! why do i feel that this might mean a change from a "Dance Hit Music Station" (which was observed in Energy's style of music during the past months) to a "Hit Music Station" !!! just like the other ones in the market!

Or does it mean turning it into a "Mute" show-less radio station! which i guess it already is!

Or is it just that the jordanian airwaves are having more and more copy-cats around!

lets wait and see!

Update: The Lipstick lunch girls has also resigned. and the show was put on hold

JO Magazine turns 5!

5 years of variety and dynamism
5 years of professional journalism
5 years of all kinds of topics, ranging from the Amman bombings to Drugs, from Night life and Night clubs in Amman to Honor crimes, from The Alternative Music movement in Jordan to Porn Cinemas in downtown Amman ... all covered in JO.
5 years of english-written magazines in Jordan (since JO was the 1st!)
5 years of the most serious magazine in Jordan, yet the most hyper dynamic.
5 years of the jordanian magazine that just makes you proud as a jordanian!

Yes, JO Magazine, turning 5 with their 61st issue this month, is a magazine that I'd like to follow up each and every month. And despite the fact that i sometimes (rarely) might not buy it, but like to follow it up. Simply because its a realistic magazine, and its probably the only English written magazine in Jordan that is not oriented towards the elite rich people in Jordan, and rather tackles all sorts of topics from the dynamic Jordanian society, with its goods and bads, and is just an overall looking window of journalism towards all sorts of political, social, economical, cultural, and even taboo issues in jordan. With an alternative professional vision, and many times different than what some people would imagine.

JO is also a good tool for representing Jordan! For example, in a technological conference i participated in here in jordan, I had the chance to meet a peer from the Czech republic, whom i gave JO Magazine. Later that year when i was at the Czech republic, and when discussing several issues about jordan with him, some information i was telling him were replied by him: “I know, I read it in the magazine you gave me, JO Magazine :)”. its realistic, its not telling the people reading it that we are Living Very Well, nor that we are enjoying Luxury in the Jordan Business, but it indeed shows the realistic view of jordan, and all sort of Jordanians more than a venture pulp in a nox :)

and maybe thats why Jordanian bloggers have always discussed about JO Magazine in their posts, and thus later came, as a logical result in JO's journalistic policy, their care in the Jordanian blogosphere in several features as well as their “Super Highway” monthly section.

re-STAR-ting The Star

The weekly jordanian newspaper, The Star, had recently had an "extreme makeover" resulting in a very dynamic and attractive new english weekly. in a fully colored Tabloid format.

The Star, issued by Addustour media, is the only weekly broadsheet newspaper published in jordan, and it started in 1993, with an inherited history from "The Jerusalem Star" which was published in Jerusalem ever since 1966 through the 1980s.

The Tabloid format made it able to have more topics around and about, since the small page sizes enable having more concentrated context, and more topics and page to review in the newspaper. and less empty talks to fill in blank spaces in certain pages.

the newspaper, whose price increased also to be 0.5 JD, worths it as its more of a ... call it, weekly magazine (Addustour's press can give almost that quality). Also faced an online make over, with a simpler and neater website on www.star.com.jo

Don't forget to check it out tomorrow morning and every monday morning, it worths it!

Radio Guide Update: Ayyam FM also in Irbid and Ma'an

Ayyam FM, which started broadcasting today in Amman on 91.5 FM. has also started broadcasting in irbid and northern Jordan on 91.9 FM. and in Ma'an and Petra on 92.1 FM.

Radio Guide Update: Spin FM Jordan also in Irbid and Ma'an

Spin FM Jordan, which started broadcasting today in Amman on 94.1 FM. has also started broadcasting in irbid and northern Jordan on 88.3 FM. and in Ma'an and Petra on 88.5 FM.

By that, Spin FM becomes the 1st ever private western music station that gets a broadcasting license outside the capital Amman. and the 1st one to broadcast in the northern city of irbid, which has been suffering from the lack of a western hit music station, despite the rich market expected for such a station in a city full of campus students and western music lovers.

Radio Guide Update: Ayyam FM on 91.5 FM in Amman

Ayyam FM, the communicorp arabic station in jordan, which was 1st decleared as Spin Arabia from the long waited Communicorp presence in Jordan, started broadcasting today on 91.5 FM in the Greater Amman Area. and is soon to broadcast in other areas around jordan.

Apparently, Ayyam FM will be some sort of an arabic hit music station, playing all the latest arabic hits and varieties.

Also about the sister station Spin Jordan

Radio Guide Update: Spin FM Jordan on 94.1 FM in Amman

Spin FM Jordan, the long waited radio station from Communicorp in Jordan, started broadcasting today on 94.1 FM in the Greater Amman Area. and is soon to broadcast in other areas around jordan.

Apparently, Spin Jordan will be close in style to the Irish Spin 1038, as a hit music station (yes, yet another one!), rather than the Czech Radio Spin (which is specialized in Rap, HipHop, RnB)

Also about the sister station Ayyam FM