Jordan Gate Towers

The towers are located on an elevated area of land about 985 metres (3,232 ft) above mean sea level, in the Umm Uthainah Al-Gharbi neighbourhood of West Amman near the 6th intersection on Zahran Street.[1]

Satellite Imagery of Jordan Gate Towers on 14 April 2023

The total cost is about $300 million, was designed by late Palestinian-Jordanian architect Ja'afar Tuqan,[2] owned by Jordan Gate Company, consulted by alnasser + partners, managed by ALNOUR Construction Management LLC. The main contractor is Anas Anani & Partners Contracting Company, and the sub-contractor for aluminum and glass is Turn Up Al-Faisal Company.

Jordan Gate project sign, showing the owner, consultant, project manager, and the contractors.

The total building area is about 220,000 m² (2,400,000 sq ft),[3] and contains 20,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement.[4] It is divided into three parts: two 38 storey high-rises, North and South, at a height of 162 and 145 meters, respectively, and with an area of 135,000 m² (1,450,000 sq ft).[5] The third part is a three-storey podium, with an area of 14,000 m² (150,000 sq ft). There are five underground parking storeys, with an area of 71,000 m² (760,000 sq ft), that have a capacity for 1550 passenger vehicles.[6]

The North Tower will 215 host residential apartments,[7] the South Tower will host a hotel and serviced apartments,[8] and the podium will host a shopping mall with 72 brands.[7] Since they are unobstructed by any topography or other buildings, the towers are visible from almost all neighbourhoods of Amman and many other Jordanian governorates,[9] and when the horizon is clear, they can be observed by the naked eye from the West Bank tens of kilometers away.[10]

The area of land where the project currently stands used to be a private property, and was sold to the Greater Amman Municipality in 1959.[11]

Amrah park before 2005, where the project currently stands just left of Umm-Uthainah's water tower. Photo taken northwards.

In 2005,[12] the site was a public park called "Amrah", with an area of 28,500 m² (307,000 sq ft),[11] and was sold to GFH Financial House[13] for 5.9 million Jordanian Dinars.[14] On 29 May, King Abdullah II laid the foundation stone for the Jordan Gate Project.[15]Excavation works started shortly thereafter,[13] and in November foundation works had begun.[16]

King Abdullah II set the foundation stone for the Jordan Gate project on 29 May 2005.

The structures began rising above ground level during 2006,[17] interrupted by two major incidents, a fire and a storey collapse, on 25 August and 12 September respectively.[18][19]

Excavation works in 2005 in the land of what was Amrah park, prior to the installation of foundations for the buildings. Photo taken northwards.

The South Tower in August 2006 with just a few storeys high. Photo taken eastwards with the Crown Plaza Amman hotel in the background.

By January 2007, Greater Amman Municipality had a share of 10%[20] in the project's capital but decided to sell it[21] because the latter didn't gain a building license.[22] Jordan Gate Company paid the municipality a total of $40 million, of which $25 million will be for the purpose of improving traffic and infrastructure around the site, while the remaining $15 million dollars are for the municipality's share.[21]During that year, progress gained momentum and the buildings were rising rapidly by one storey per week, thanks to the slip forming method,[23] and broke in August the record for the tallest in Amman[20](Since 2013, Rotana Amman became the tallest).[24] A brief fire broke out on 10 October in the 35th storey of the North Tower.[25]

In 2008, progress reached 80%[26] with the towers topping-out and glazing works starting.[27]

The towers lit at night in 2007, taken westwards

Up close look at the South Tower in 2007, with cast in-situ concrete slab works seen on roof.

The towers seen lit at night in 2007 from Dabouq neighbourhood several kilometers away facing southeast, with Mecca Mall and City Mall in the foreground.

Taken in 2007 southwards facing the North Tower.

The towers half glazed, taken in 2008 southwards.

During 2009 and 2010, construction was slow and intermittent; as a result of a financial hardship between the contractor (Al-Hamad)[13] and the owner (Al-Bayan Holding)[13] following the financial crisis of 2007–2008,[28] and also due to the North Tower's crane collapse incident that stalled works for several weeks.[29]

In 2011, the financial hardship caused construction to halt, the site was abandoned for years,[30] and the buildings have undergone weathering and corrosion.[31]

In May 2016, after many failed negotiations, the conflict between the owner and the contractor had reached a settlement,[32] and from March till September 2017, construction works resumed temporarily, which included external façade cleaning, bracing against seismic loads, steel jacketing, formwork and casting, scaffolding, coring and anchoring, and roof insulation.[33] However, the contractor later withdrew from the project, and once again it was halted.[34]

A bottom to top view of the towers taken from ground level.

The towers lit at night in 2010, taken westwards.

Taken in 2011 at night, southwards.

Amman's skyline in 2013, with the Jordan Gate being a prominent figure since.

The Jordanian flag projected on the facade at night during celebrations of Independence Day in May 2022, taken westwards.

Photo taken eastwards, the towers as seen in 2009 during sunrise from the West Bank Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, more than 55 km away.

Photo taken eastwards, the towers as seen in 2021 with extreme camera zoom from the Shu'afat neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, more than 60 km away.

In February 2022, Greater Amman Municipality announced that it had entered again as a partner in the project, by acquiring 31% (amounts for 50 million Jordanian Dinars) of the capital of the Jordan Gate Company,[35] to put an end to the "investment failure" in the heart of the city.[36] The bid referral for the first package of works related to the implementation of the buildings' external façade took place in December.[37]

Finally, in January 2023, construction works resumed.[37]

There were four major incidents during the project's construction between 2006 and 2009, including two fires, a storey collapse, and a tower crane collapse:

Fires

In the early morning hours of 25 August 2006, a huge fire broke out on the eighth storey of the North Tower. No injuries were reported.[18]

The huge fire of 25 August 2006, as seen from several kilometers away looking southwards, with the Crown Plaza Amman hotel visible to the left.

On 10 October 2007, due to an electrical surge that reached the wood of the scaffolding, a brief fire broke out at about 3 o'clock in the morning on the 35th storey of the North Tower. No injuries were reported.[25]

Storey Collapse

Collapse of the 3rd storey of the South Tower, 12 September 2006.

At around 8 o'clock in the evening on 12 September 2006, less than three weeks after the fire of August, part of the 3rd storey's slab of the South Tower collapsed due to a failure in the scaffolding, killing two Egyptian workers and injuring 25 others.[19] Works on the project were halted for several months following a decision by Greater Amman Municipality, in order to gain a building license.[38]

Tower Crane Collapse

On 16 May 2009, the crane of the North Tower collapsed after it was overloaded. An Egyptian worker was hospitalized, and 15 surrounding houses were evacuated to nearby hotels.[39] The dismantling process started in June and took 3 days and required three additionial cranes that were imported from abroad. It was a complex procedure due to the height of the crane, 220 meters,[40] and because it was surrounded by a crowded neighbourhood.[41] Bags of sand and polystyrene plates were put at ground level to absorb the kinetic energy if the dismantled crane fell during the process.[41]

Collapse of the North Tower's crane about 220 meters high on 16 May 2009.

Workers installing a pile of polystyrene cubes at ground level below the collapsed crane, 23 May 2009.

North Tower crane (left) being dismantled using a Derrick crane in June 2009.

The project drew a lot of criticism since even before its construction, mainly due to:

• The project started without gaining a building permit.[42]
• Its conflict with the skyline of Amman.[43]
• Noise pollution that comes from construction works around the clock.[43]
• Revealing many surrounding houses and the lack of privacy.[43]
• The weak infrastructure such as electrical, water supply, and wastewater networks, in the neighbourhood. Moreover, traffic congestion is on top of all concerns, especially that surrounding streets are already crowded.[43]

• List of tallest buildings in Amman
• List of twin buildings and structures
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