Zarqa
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الزرقاء Zarqa |
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| Coordinates | 32 ° 5 ′ 0 ″ N , 36 ° 6 ′ 0 ″ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Jordan | ||
| Zarqa | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | JO-AZ | ||
| height | 619 m | ||
| surface | 60 km² | ||
| Residents | 635,160 (2015) | ||
| density | 10,586 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1902 | ||
 Image from the center of Zarqa
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Zarqa ( Arabic الزرقاء az-Zarqāʾ , locally also ez-Zergā or ez-Zer'a , German sometimes also Zarka or Zerqa , translated "The Blue") is a city in Jordan , immediately northeast of Amman . It has about 635,160 inhabitants (2015 census). Zarqa is the capital of the Zarqa governorate of the same name.
Population development
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 1,000 |
| 1928 | 6,000 |
| 1952 | 28,456 |
| 2004 | 450.102 |
| 2015 | 635.160 |
economy
Zarqa is the industrial center of Jordan (50% of the Jordanian industry is located in the city). This is mainly due to the city's proximity to the capital Amman and at the same time low land prices.
Nuclear power plant
In October 2013, the chairman of the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission, Khaled Toukan, announced the construction of a nuclear power plant with two reactor blocks and a total output of around two gigawatts in the desert not far from the Zarqa industrial zone. The first reactor should go into operation in 2020, and the construction costs will be 10 billion US dollars. The client, operator, strategic partner and investor will be the Russian nuclear power export group . The Jordanian government should hold 51 percent and the Russian partner 49 percent of the shares; the corresponding agreement should be signed in 2016.
history
The name Zarqa first became known to the general public through the almost simultaneous hijacking of three Swissair , TWA and BOAC aircraft on September 6, 1970 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . All three had to land on the disused airfield Dawson's Field near Zarqa, which the Palestinians called "the airfield of the revolution". A grueling war of nerves developed over the release of the hostages in exchange for imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, including those imprisoned in Switzerland for the attack in Kloten on February 18, 1969. Ultimately, all of the hostages were released unharmed and the planes were blown up. The events culminated in the so-called “ Black September ”.
Education and Research
Zarqa has a total of 3 universities.
Personalities
- Abu Musab az-Zarqawi (1966-2006)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The General Census - 2015 . Department of Population Statistics.
- ↑ October 28, 2013, de.sputniknews.com: Power plant construction in the Middle East: Jordan discovers nuclear power
- ^ Spiegel.de , April 9, 2012, Claudia Mende: Power plant construction in the Middle East: Jordan discovers nuclear power
- ^ Hijacking a Swissair DC-8 to Zerqa in: NZZ Online from September 5, 2005.