BBC Monitoring

Text of report in English by Jordan Times website on 24 August

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) announced on Thursday [23 August] that it will launch a private radio station in an effort to establish a dialogue with the capital's residents.

The station will focus on GAM affairs by "announcing the municipality's objectives behind each project it implements", according to the GAM press centre. The station will keep Amman residents up-to-date with the municipality's latest news and events throughout the city, the centre added.

According to GAM press centre director Taha Abu Redin, the radio station will provide GAM with the public's feedback on each of its projects, municipal activities and services. As a public service organization, GAM believes in the importance of two-way communication with the residents of the capital, which is the "base of success", the centre said.

The station will broadcast several programmes tailored to listeners within the greater Amman area, which now covers 1,680 square metres. On! e of its main features will be live talk shows that focus on the problems and difficulties facing the capital's residents.

The station will be based at GAM headquarters in Ras Al Ain. Any plans for expansion will depend on its success in its first year. The station will start broadcasting by mid-November, according to a GAM source.

Source: Jordan Times website, Amman, in English 24 Aug 07