Whenever Jordan’s economy faces a new challenge, we tend to ask the same questions:

 

How can we reduce the budget deficit? How can we lower public debt? How do we attract more investment? How do we accelerate economic growth?

 

These are legitimate questions, but they are no longer sufficient.

 

Perhaps the question that should come before all of them is this:

 

How can we ensure that every project, every investment, and every economic policy generates the greatest possible value for the Jordanian economy?

 

Jordan stands today at an exceptional moment. The country is moving forward with several strategic national projects, led by the National Water Carrier Project, alongside major investments in infrastructure, transport, urban development, and other initiatives that form key pillars of the Economic Modernization Vision. These projects represent far more than capital investment; they offer a historic opportunity to reshape Jordan’s economy for decades to come.

 

Yet their success should not be measured solely by the size of their budgets, the speed of execution, or the quality of engineering delivery. Those indicators remain important, but they are no longer enough.

 

The real questions are:

 

Will these projects generate sustainable jobs?

 

Will they help Jordanian companies become more competitive?

 

Will they expand local procurement and strengthen domestic supply chains?

 

Will they transfer knowledge and technology?

 

Will they attract new investment and increase exports?

 

Above all, what lasting economic value will they create for Jordan?

 

These are the questions that distinguish an economy that merely spends on projects from one that uses projects to build its future.

 

International experience offers valuable lessons. Countries such as Singapore and South Korea—and more recently Saudi Arabia through its Local Content programs—have demonstrated that a successful project is not one that ends with its inauguration, but one whose economic impact begins after construction is complete. In these economies, major projects are viewed not simply as physical assets, but as platforms for industrial development, stronger supply chains, higher productivity, technological advancement, and long-term investment.

 

Why shouldn’t this become Jordan’s ambition as well?

 

It is equally important to emphasize that the ideas presented here are not intended to replace Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision or the government’s ongoing reform programs. On the contrary, they are based on the conviction that these initiatives provide a historic opportunity for Jordan, and that their impact can be significantly enhanced by introducing one additional dimension: maximizing the economic value created by every project and measuring success through jobs, productivity, investment, local value creation, competitiveness, and sustainable growth.

 

This is why I believe Jordan’s economic debate should embrace a new concept:

 

National Economic Return

 

Before approving any major strategic project, policymakers should ask one simple question:

 

What measurable economic value will this project generate for Jordan over its lifetime?

 

This question should stand alongside the traditional measures of cost, schedule, and technical performance. In time, National Economic Return could become one of the principal indicators used to evaluate strategic public investments—not replacing existing measures but complementing them, by ensuring that every public Dinar delivers the greatest possible economic value.

 

Consider a simple illustration.

 

If strategic national projects worth one billion Jordanian Dinars allocate approximately half of their value to procurement, then increasing local procurement by only ten percentage points could retain tens of millions of additional Dinars within the Jordanian economy. Those resources would support domestic manufacturers, create new jobs, strengthen local suppliers, stimulate investment, and expand industrial capabilities.

 

In this case, public projects become far more than capital expenditures. They become engines of long-term economic transformation.

 

This, in essence, is what I mean by a Smarter Economy.

 

A smarter economy does not necessarily spend more. It creates greater value from every Dinar invested. It measures success not only by what is built today, but by the economic impact that remains years later.

 

It also depends on efficiency, transparency, and accountability, because waste is not merely a governance issue—it is an economic cost that reduces productivity, discourages investment, and limits a nation’s capacity to build future prosperity.

 

It is time to move beyond asking:

 

“How much did we spend?”

 

and begin asking:

 

“What lasting value did we create?”

 

The difference between a good economy and a smart economy is not the size of its resources, but its ability to transform every resource into value, every opportunity into productivity, and every project into a catalyst for long-term national competitiveness.

 

The Next Step

 

If we truly believe that Jordan possesses the foundations for a stronger and more competitive economy, then the first step is not necessarily launching more projects—it is improving the way we evaluate the success of the projects already underway.

 

I therefore propose launching a national dialogue involving government, the private sector, universities, professional associations, and policy research institutions to develop a practical framework for incorporating National Economic Return into the evaluation of strategic public projects.

 

Economic impact should become part of project design from the very beginning—not merely a hoped-for outcome after completion.

 

Jordan does not necessarily need more resources. It needs a smarter way of using the resources it already has.

 

Nor does it necessarily need more projects. It needs projects that generate lasting economic value for future generations.

 

Nations do not become prosperous because they spend more. They become prosperous because they create more value from every resource they possess.