About Ma'an

Maʿan is southern Jordan. It is a regional trade centre for the sparsely settled southern part of the country, which is inhabited mainly by the Ḥuwayṭat and other Bedouin tribes. Once a centre of Minaean power in northwestern Arabia, Maʿān was later controlled in turn by the Sabaeans, the Lihyanites, and the Nabataeans. Modern-day Maʿān is the chief road and rail junction of southern Jordan. The town lies on the Hejaz-Jordan Railway, which runs north-south and connects to Damascus in the north. The part of the rail line south of Maʿān that formerly reached Medina (now in Saudi Arabia) was largely destroyed by Arab guerrillas led by the English leader T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) during World War I; it has been replaced by the Desert Highway, which roughly follows the route of the former rail line in its Jordanian section. An all-weather road runs from the port of Al-ʿAqabah north to Maʿān and there connects to Jordan’s main north-south highway, which leads to Amman, the capital.

Ma'an is a special economic zone with reduced income taxes, no other taxes (including taxes on income from exports), and streamlined regulatory procedures. Construction of the MDA's industrial park began in 2008 and is set to be completed in 2030. The Shams Ma'an Solar Power Plant is located in the MDA.