Jordan- Engineers association grows to 97,000 members 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) The Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) on Wednesday said it had made major progress in its operations over the past three years, with its total membership reaching 97,000.

During a press conference yesterday to highlight the achievements of the outgoing council of the association, JEA President Abdullah Obeidat said more than 7,200 new engineers joined the association in 2011, while over 19,000 new members were registered over the past three years.

Obeidat said the association's pension fund achieved a surplus of over JD6.8 million in 2011 and more than JD23 million since 2009.

In addition, he said, the JEA disbursed almost JD15 million in pensions to retired engineers in 2011, while the figure amounted to over JD39 million in the past three years.

According to Obeidat, whose tenure as JEA president ends next month, the association bought 500 dunums of land in 2011 and 1,400 dunums over the past three years, making the association one of the largest landowners in the Kingdom, with thousands of dunums across the country.

Obeidat and other members of the JEA council also highlighted the association's position on several local, regional and international political issues.

They all agreed that the association supports what they described as a "modern formula for the new elections law".

The JEA council members also expressed support for the popular youth movements calling for more reforms and steps to combat corruption.

The JEA views the recent revolutions in several neighbouring countries favourably and maintains that the Palestinian issue remains the key issue in the region, they said, noting that the JEA supports the rights of the Palestinians to a state of their own on their national soil.