Jordan Gate Towers

Jordan Gate Towers
Jordan Gate Towers and Amman's skyline, taken eastwards
Alternative names	6th Circle Towers
General information
Status	On hold, will resume in Q4 2022.
Type	High-class hotel, residential apartments, offices, and shopping mall.
Town or city	Amman
Country	Jordan
Coordinates	31°57′45″N 35°52′8″E
Elevation	Ground: 985 metres (3,232 ft); Roof: 1,170 metres (3,840 ft)
Construction started	June 2005
Topped-out	Late-2008
Completed	December 2024
Cost	$300 million
Owner	Jordan Gate Company
Height	North Tower: 185 metres (607 ft); South Tower: 160 metres (520 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	38 (+ 5 underground parking storeys)
Floor area	220,000 m2 (2,400,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Ja'afar Tuqan
Structural engineer	alnasser + partners ©
Main contractor	Al-Hamad Contracting Company
Other information
Parking	1550 passenger vehicles

Jordan Gate Towers (Arabic: أبراج بوابة الأردن), also known informally as 6th Circle Towers (Arabic: أبراج الدوار السادس), is a high class commercial and residential project in Amman, Jordan, it consists of two high-rise buildings connected by a multi-storey podium.

Since its beginning, the project suffered from a lot of criticism, accidents, and was suspended for over a decade due to financial hardships between the owner and contractor. However, construction is set to resume again in Q4 2022, and will be completed by December 2024.

Overview

The project is located on an elevated area 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.

Total cost is $300 million, was designed by late Palestinian-Jordanian architect Ja'afar Tuqan, owned by Jordan Gate Company, main contractor is Al-Hamad Contracting, and the structural engineering office is alnasser + partners.

Total building area is about 220,000 m² (2,400,000 sq ft), and contains: two 38-storey high-rises (named "North and South Towers"), 135,000 m² (1,450,000 sq ft), and connected by a three-storey podium, 14,000 m² (150,000 sq ft).

The North Tower, 185 m (607 ft) high, will host residential apartments, while the South Tower, 160 m (520 ft) high, will host a 200-room hotel, residential apartments, and offices.

The multi-storey podium will host a shopping mall with 70 brands, swimming pools, conference halls and restaurants.

In addition, there are five underground parking storeys, 71,000 m² (760,000 sq ft), that have a capacity for 1550 passenger vehicles.

History

The area of land where the project now stands, used to be a private property, and was sold to Greater Amman Municipality in 1959, for the purpose of turning it into a public park. In 1978, part of the land, was designated for investment, which in 1984, became a hotel named Amrah (Arabic: عمرة) (now Crowne Plaza Amman), along with a water tower.

In 2004, the park, 27,000 m² (290,000 sq ft), was sold to Bahrain's GFH Financial Group, and on May 29th, 2005, King Abdullah II laid the foundation stone for the Jordan Gate Project. It was developed in partnership with Greater Amman Municipality, Kuwait Finance and Investment Company, Al-Hamad Contracting Company, and Hilton. Later, Greater Amman Municipality sold its share for $40 million: to improve infrastructure around the site ($25 million), and to waiver its name as a partner ($15 million); because the project had violated the system of buildings for the number of storeys allowed in that neighbourhood, even though it had already been authorized to progress.

Excavation works for foundations started in June 2005, the buildings started rising above ground level in 2006, breaking in mid-2007 the record for the tallest in Amman, surpassing the Le Royal Hotel Amman of 105 m (344 ft) high (since 2013, Amman Rotana, 188 m (617 ft), has been the tallest). In 2008, glazing works started, and the towers topped-out at the end of the year. Later, in 2009 and 2010, construction was slow and intermittent; due to financial hardship between the contractor and the owner following the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

In 2011, the financial hardship caused construction to halt at 70%, the site was abandonded for years, and the buildings have undergone weathering and corrosion. In May 2016, after many failed negotiations, the conflict between the owner and the contractor had approached a settlement, that nonetheless didn't last for long. In mid-2017, construction works resumed temporary, which mainly included facade cleaning, tower crane replacing, and installing a steel structure on roof for glazing.

Finally, in February 2022, Greater Amman Municipality entered again as a partner, by acquiring 31% (amounts for 50 million Jordanian Dinars) of the capital of the company that owns the project, construction is officially set to resume in Q4 2022, and will be completed by December 2024.

Construction Resumption

According to Greater Amman Municipality strategic plan for the years 2022-2026, there are three construction phases to complete the Jordan Gate Towers project, stretching from Q4 2022 till December 2024, as follows:

1. From Q4 2022 till May 2023, preparing executive plans for architectural and construction works, bills of quantities, specifications and terms of the contractor's contract, implementing external facade works, and isolating the buildings from weather conditions.
2. Completion works of the North Tower and Central Podium, from May 2023 till December 2024.
3. Completion works of the South Tower, starting not later than March 2023, after signing a contract with a hotel company, and then the timetable for implementation will be prepared.

Accidents

There were three major accidents during the project's construction from 2006 to 2009:

Fire

A fire broke out on the eighth storey of the north tower in August 2006, but nobody was injured.

Storeys Collapse

In September 2006, just three weeks after the fire, three storeys of the north tower collapsed, killing four workers and injuring 15 others.

Tower Crane Collapse

In May 2009, a part of the crane on the north tower collapsed after it was overloaded. The crane, weighing 20 tons, was about 220 metres (720 ft) high. There were no injuries, but an Egyptian worker suffered from shock and was transported to a nearby hospital. For three days following the collapse, families living near the site were evacuated to nearby hotels. The dismantling and removal of the broken crane began on Friday, June 12th, 2009. Four additional cranes were bought to assist in the dismantling process. Within a few months, the crane had been replaced with a new one and work was able to resume.

Criticism

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

• Its conflict with the skyline of Amman.

• Noise pollution that comes from construction works around the clock.

• Revealing many surrounding houses and the lack of privacy.
• Reflection of sunlight from the glazing.

• The weak surrounding infrastructure such as electrical, water supply, and wastewater networks. Moreover, traffic congestion is on top of all concerns, especially that the neighbourhood is already crowded.

See also

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