Construction on the skeleton of structures was completed for the Solomon Pools Resort in Bethlehem, Palestine.   The 42.5 million JD (60 million $US) project, which was designed by Dr. Yaghmour and Associates Consulting Architects , covers a site of 260,000 square meters and includes built up areas amounting to 27,000 square meters.   The site includes several historical structures including three 2000-year old pools dating back to the Herodian period and a seventeenth-century Ottoman fort.   The project consists of restoring the historical components of the site, and the addition of new elements including a hotel, convention center, crafts center, museum, restaurants, an amphitheater, and a public park.   The Athens-based international Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) and the Palestinian al-Mizan Company are carrying out construction work for the project.   Parts of the project, including the convention center, are expected to be completed by November 2000.

Construction was completed on Darat Samir Shamma, a complex devoted to the care of the elderly.  The complex, which was designed by Sobeh Engineering Office, includes 66 living units, a health club, and a medical clinic.  The 20,000 square meter complex cost 2 million JD (2.8 million $US), which were donated by the philanthropist Samir Shamma.

Construction was completed on the 10,000 square meter headquarters for the Jordanian mobile telephone company Fastlink in Amman.  The building, which was designed by Sigma Consulting Engineers, cost 3 million JD (about 4.25 million $US).

Construction was completed on the 10,000 square meter, 5 million JD (7 million $US) guesthouse in Bethlehem for the Palestinian National Authority.  The guesthouse, which was designed by Jafar Tukan and Partners, consists of a guesthouse with 60 suites for visiting dignitaries, meeting rooms and offices, and a residence for Yasir Arafat, the president of the Palestinian National Authority.

Construction was completed on the Pilgrim’s Center in Bethlehem for the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission.  The project, which was designed by Jafar Tukan and Partners in association with Petra-Mimar of Beit Jala, Palestine, occupies an area of over 5,000 square meters and includes 65 guestrooms for pilgrims. The cost of the project was 3 million JD (about 4.25 million $US).

Renovation work was completed for the 134 room hotel at the Ma’in hot springs in the north of Jordan, which reopened its doors as the Mercure Ma’in Spa Hotel.  This project is the first in a series of collaborations in the tourism sector in Jordan between local investors in the and Accor Group in France, which owns or operates over 3000 hotels worldwide under names that include Sofitel, Novotel, and Mercure.  DARB and architect Ruby Fakhoury carried out the renovation consultancy work for this 2 million JD (2.8 million $US) project, which was executed in a period of six months.

Expo 2000 in Hanover opened its doors to visitors, and the Jordanian Pavilion is one of more than 180 pavilions featured in this event.  The pavilion has been well received, and the French Institute for Architecture has chosen it along with 21 others to be showcased in Paris next year as an example of imaginative architectural installations.  Following the end of Expo 2000 in October, the pavilion will be dismantled and carried back to Amman, where it is expected to be reinstalled in the al-Hussein Park (for information on al-Hussein Park, see the Initiation of projects section in the February 2000 news items).  Architect Akram Abu Hamdan has served as chairman and commissioner of the Jordan National Committee for Expo 2000.  For additional information on the Jordanian pavilion, visit the following site:  www.expo2000.com.jo