Zarqa Governorate
Zarqa's 885MW power capacity and manufacturing base anchor Jordan's industrial sector (27% GDP), absorbing refugees since 1948 alongside Amman employment.
Zarqa industrialized when Jordan industrialized, the governorate's power plants (400 MW at Az Zarqa) and manufacturing facilities representing the 27.1% of GDP that industry contributes to Jordan's service-dominated economy. The ACWA Zarqa combined-cycle gas turbine (485 MW)—the largest power project IFC financed in Jordan—confirms the energy infrastructure concentration that makes Zarqa essential to national electricity supply.
Population concentration creates employment access that agricultural governorates lack—Zarqa joining Amman and Irbid in capturing three-quarters of Jordan's new job openings while peripheral areas remain underserved. Palestinian refugee camps established in 1948 and 1967, later augmented by Syrian arrivals, give Zarqa demographic complexity that shapes housing, services, and labor markets.
The governorate's industrial character creates environmental and social conditions that differ from Amman's service economy or Aqaba's port-driven development. Whether Zarqa can upgrade from heavy industry toward higher-value manufacturing—or whether industrial employment declines as regional competitors attract investment—determines whether the governorate maintains economic relevance as Jordan's economy evolves.