The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (FDA) are keen to part-fund the 2.4bn-dinar ($3.3bn) Jodan National Railway Network.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan Jafar Hassan said EIB and the French agency were interested in providing $300m of fund to implement the part that links Aqaba Port with the phosphate mines in the south of the kingdom.

The proposed 950km railway network will connect Jordan with Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The feasibility studies conducted by French company BNB Paribas favoured Jordan executing the project in partnership with the private sector under a build-transfer-operate (BTO) model, according to jordantimes.com.