In the heart of downtown Amman, where the Roman Theatre, traditional markets and old houses form one of the capital’s most distinctive urban landscapes, preparatory work has begun ahead of the construction of the Jabal Al-Qalaa cable car project. The development is set to reshape parts of the area’s urban landscape, prompting concerns and calls to ensure that Amman’s historic and archaeological identity is protected.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Greater Amman Municipality have begun preparatory and development works in downtown Amman as part of the project. The initiative aims to boost tourism, improve the urban environment and connect several of the capital’s major tourist sites and landmarks.

The ministry and the municipality say that the buildings affected by the preparation and removal works are not classified as heritage or archaeological buildings and are located outside the main historic market areas. They have stressed that protecting the archaeological and architectural heritage and preserving downtown Amman’s identity remain central to the development plans.

Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan officially announced the launch of the Jabal Al-Qalaa cable car project as one of the capital’s major tourism projects during a Cabinet session held in Amman Governorate. A presentation outlining the project was given during the session. Hassan said the project is intended to restore the appeal of central and eastern Amman while creating employment opportunities for local communities.

Two Routes Connecting Amman’s Major Landmarks

According to the official presentation, the project will be developed and operated by Roya Amman, the investment arm of the Greater Amman Municipality, with support from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The project consists of two main routes. The first will connect Jabal Al-Qalaa with Jabal Al-Weibdeh, while the second will link Jabal Al-Qalaa with the Roman Theatre in downtown Amman. According to the announced timeline, the cable car is expected to begin operating approximately 15 months after construction starts.

The project is particularly significant because of its location in one of the oldest parts of the capital and an area deeply connected to Amman’s history. Jabal Al-Qalaa contains archaeological remains reflecting the succession of several civilizations in the city, while the Roman Theatre is one of the most prominent surviving landmarks from Roman-era Amman. Jabal Al-Weibdeh, meanwhile, has developed into one of the capital’s most prominent cultural and artistic neighborhoods.

Speaking to AmmanNet, archaeologist Dr. Nizar Al-Tarshan, a professor at the University of Jordan, said Amman is an important historic city distinguished by its mountainous terrain and surrounded by hills from several directions. This gives the city center a strong visual presence from multiple elevated points.

Cable car projects, he noted, are common in many countries around the world, and Jordan already has experience with such a system in Ajloun. But what makes the Amman project particularly sensitive is its location within a living historic city, where archaeological and heritage sites are closely intertwined with the modern urban fabric.

According to Al-Tarshan, the project connects several archaeological and heritage sites across the capital. That gives it the potential to become more than simply a means of transportation or entertainment, provided it is integrated into a broader tourism experience that introduces visitors to Amman’s history and its cultural diversity.

Despite the project’s tourism potential, Al-Tarshan stresses that his reservations are not about the concept of a cable car itself, but about how it will be implemented in a city containing layers of buried archaeological remains.

He warns that constructing the towers supporting the cables and cabins should be preceded by detailed archaeological, geological and geotechnical assessments, particularly in areas close to archaeological sites.

Understanding the nature of the soil and identifying the underlying bedrock on which the towers can safely be anchored will be essential, he says. He calls for geotechnical surveys and samples to be taken from different depths to ensure that the proposed locations do not contain caves, walls, structures or archaeological layers.

Any construction work in a historic city such as Amman, he adds, requires a high degree of precision to ensure that the project’s engineering requirements do not damage archaeological heritage lying beneath the surface.

Cable Car, Tourism or Sustainable Transport?

Al-Tarshan believes the potential value of the cable car should not be limited to tourism. It could also serve as a form of sustainable transport by connecting several sites while reducing reliance on cars and buses in the congested areas of downtown Amman.

Success on this front could deliver a dual benefit. It could improve the visitor experience by providing easier access to tourist sites while also helping reduce traffic pressure in central Amman.

That view aligns with the project’s broader economic potential. Economist Munir Diyeh describes the Amman cable car as an important tourism and economic project that could provide the capital with a significant new attraction and strengthen its ability to draw both domestic and international visitors.

Diyeh says Amman needs to revitalize its tourist sites and argues that the project could have important economic implications beyond tourism itself. It could contribute to developing tourism infrastructure and reducing some of the costs associated with the sector, thereby strengthening its contribution to the national economy.

He also believes the cable car could improve Amman’s competitiveness against tourism destinations in neighboring countries, with positive effects on tourism, hospitality and other sectors linked to visitor spending.

An increase in tourist traffic through downtown Amman could also benefit shopkeepers, traders and traditional market businesses, while generating additional tourism revenues and stimulating economic activity across the capital.

But Al-Tarshan warns that if the character of the area is not properly taken into account, the cable car could become a source of visual disruption rather than an attraction. The design of the cabins and towers, as well as their placement, should reflect Amman’s distinctive landscape, stone architecture and urban character, he says.

Amman already possesses a natural advantage, he points out: its central areas can be viewed from the surrounding hills. Introducing new structures into that landscape therefore requires a careful assessment of their visual impact.

Academics are not opposed to the project in principle, Al-Tarshan says. Their approach is one of caution, based on the need to preserve Amman’s historic identity and visual character, particularly because downtown combines archaeological and heritage landmarks with traditional markets and older urban structures.

Downtown Amman is not simply an urban space, he emphasizes. Parts of the city stand directly above archaeological layers, making the preservation of its heritage, archaeological and visual dimensions a priority whenever a new project is introduced.

Jordan already has an operating example in the form of the Ajloun Cable Car, which connects Ajloun Castle with the Ashtafina area in the north of the kingdom. The Ajloun route is approximately 2.5 kilometers long in each direction, with a round trip taking around 20 minutes. The system has 40 cabins, each capable of carrying up to eight passengers.