Amman - The Jordanian government on Saturday signed an agreement with a coalition of Spanish and Kuwaiti firms for building a light rail system between Amman and the city of Zarqa at a cost of 332 million dollars, an official statement said.

The deal provides for the construction of a dual-track 26- kilometre railway between Amman and Zarqa in accordance with the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) formula for 30 years.

The Spanish-Kuwaiti consortium replaces a Pakistani-Chinese coalition which signed a similar agreement with the Amman government in May last year but the deal was terminated by Jordan in March this year for "legal reasons." (dpa)