What are Jordan’s Current Logistics Capabilities in Terms of Geographic Location, Infrastructure, and Multimodal Logistics Services to Support Its Role as a Logistics Hub for the European Union in the Gulf?

Aseel Azizieh (study)

Jordan enjoys a unique strategic geographic location that makes it a natural gateway linking Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, giving it real potential to play a central role in regional and international trade flows. The Kingdom is situated in the heart of the Middle East, between the Gulf in the east and the Mediterranean Sea in the west, with direct road, railway, and border connections to Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. This location is a competitive advantage, particularly amid growing global interest in securing alternative trade routes to the traditional Suez Canal, which faces congestion challenges and geopolitical sensitivities.

1. Strategic Geographic Location
Jordan’s geographic location is a key factor in its potential role as a logistics hub connecting the European Union and the Gulf states. It links the Middle East and Europe through a network of multimodal transport systems, including maritime ports such as Aqaba Port, the Kingdom’s only seaport, which handles international trade and provides value-added logistics services such as storage, consolidation, and packaging. Jordan also shares borders with critical countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Palestine, and Syria, enabling direct land transport to support cross-border goods movement.

This strategic location allows Jordan to benefit from regional strategic initiatives such as the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to create a reliable multimodal route connecting India to Europe via the Gulf and Jordan. This corridor enables Jordan to act as a central hub for cargo transshipment, reducing transit times, lowering transport costs, and enhancing supply chain resilience. Furthermore, integration with European initiatives such as the Three Seas Initiative enhances access to Northern and Central European markets, increasing Jordan’s geo-economic importance in the region.

2. Logistics Infrastructure
Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in supporting Jordan’s logistics potential. This includes ports, roads, railways, and integrated logistics zones.

• Aqaba Port: The port serves as Jordan’s primary maritime gateway, receiving international shipping and providing capacity for container handling, bulk cargo, and value-added logistics services. Its development is a key component of Jordan’s strategy to enhance throughput capacity and link it with domestic and international transport networks.

• Road and Land Networks: Jordan’s road networks connect major cities, ports, industrial zones, and logistics centers, linking them to neighboring countries. This facilitates smooth cargo movement, reduces transport times, and supports regional integration with Gulf and Middle Eastern states.

• Railways: Rail transport complements maritime and road networks by enabling efficient cargo movement, particularly when integrated into multimodal logistics chains. It enhances cargo flexibility, reduces congestion, and improves overall supply chain efficiency.

• Integrated Logistics Zones: Jordan has established specialized areas for warehousing, distribution, and value-added services, including industrial and logistics parks near Aqaba Port and border crossings. These zones offer customs facilitation and advanced logistics services, enhancing Jordan’s ability to provide end-to-end solutions for international partners.

Research indicates that improving infrastructure quality directly impacts national logistics performance, thereby enhancing Jordan’s competitiveness in regional and global markets (Khadim et al., 2025; Aljabhan & Elnahrawy, 2024).

3. Multimodal Logistics Services
Multimodal logistics services are a key factor in increasing efficiency in Jordan’s trade flows and connecting them to regional and international corridors. This approach integrates maritime, rail, and road transport, creating operational flexibility to avoid bottlenecks, improve transit times, and reduce costs.

• Digital Integration: The success of multimodal logistics depends on adopting digital platforms for real-time cargo tracking, electronic customs clearance, inventory management, and synchronized scheduling. These platforms enhance transparency, improve Jordan’s ability to respond to market changes, and enable continuous operational optimization.

• Customs and Institutional Reforms: Efficient customs procedures and institutional governance are central to successful multimodal logistics. By streamlining customs operations, transit times can be reduced, costs lowered, and trust between trading partners strengthened. Capacity-building initiatives and workforce development in the logistics sector further enhance operational efficiency and ensure high-quality service delivery (Sumbal et al., 2023; Arvianto et al., 2021).

• Regional Integration and International Initiatives: The IMEC corridor exemplifies multimodal integration, allowing Jordan to leverage a network connecting ports, railways, and roads with full digital support, facilitating trade between Europe, the Gulf, and India. This connectivity also enhances Jordan’s flexibility in responding to geopolitical risks and positions the country strategically at both regional and international levels (Gauba & Singh, 2024; Kurniawan, 2024).

4. Challenges and Opportunities
Despite its significant potential, Jordan faces several challenges:

1. Urban Logistics Challenges: These include traffic congestion, fragmented cargo management, and environmental constraints, which can affect the efficiency of internal and external trade corridors.

2. Geopolitical Risks: Regional conflicts and political instability may impact the safety and reliability of shipments, while strategic chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea trade routes pose additional vulnerabilities.

3. Infrastructure Gaps: While ports and road networks have advanced, some areas still require upgrades and better integration with regional networks.

However, these challenges also present significant investment opportunities to improve infrastructure, enhance digital connectivity, and develop risk management mechanisms, boosting Jordan’s competitiveness as a resilient and sustainable logistics hub.

5. Strategies to Enhance Jordan’s Role
Studies suggest that Jordan can strengthen its position as a logistics hub by:

• Targeted investment in critical infrastructure, including Aqaba Port, railways, and road networks.

• Implementing digital transformation across all stages of the supply chain, including electronic customs clearance and cargo tracking systems.

• Enhancing institutional efficiency through workforce development, governance improvements, and adopting global best practices.

• Promoting regional and international cooperation, linking Jordan with major initiatives such as IMEC and the Three Seas Initiative to ensure market access and supply chain resilience.

• Implementing proactive risk management strategies, including alternative routes and contingency plans to maintain uninterrupted trade flows.

Conclusion
Jordan represents a strategic gateway for trade between Europe and the Gulf. Its unique geographic location, developed infrastructure, and multimodal logistics capabilities provide a real opportunity to become a pivotal logistics hub in the region. Through investment in infrastructure, digital transformation, institutional efficiency, and risk management strategies, the Kingdom can enhance its economic competitiveness, deliver flexible and sustainable logistics services, and facilitate regional and international trade flows in a complex geopolitical environment.

Key References:

• Khadim, Z., Batool, I., Akbar, M., Zidova, V., Vasudevan, A., & Zhang, J. (2025). Defining the logistics performance as factor of production: an evidence based analysis from developing countries. Cogent Economics & Finance, 13(1), 2515498.

• Aljabhan, B. I., & Elnahrawy, A. (2024). Impact of Saudi logistics performance index indicators on Saudi foreign trade. Al-Majalla Al-Ilmiyya Li-Kulliyat Al-Tijara (Assiut), 44(80), 361–383.

• Sumbal, M. S., Agha, M. H., Nisar, A., & Chan, F. T. S. (2023). Logistics performance systems and their impact on economic corridors: A developing economy perspective. International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 22(3), 1–22.

• Kurniawan, D. A. (2024). Multimodal logistics for resilient and sustainable global supply chains: Strategic insights from integrated transport systems. Singapore Institute of Logistics Journal, 2(4), 1–18.

• Gauba, S., & Singh, J. (2024). From geo-political to geo-economics: The significance of IMEC for India. Veethika: An International Open-Access Journal of Management Research, 10(1), 1–18.