Basra council decided this week to renovate and upgrade Basra International Airport as part of preparation to host the Gulf Cup in 2013, reports AKnews.

The airport is Iraq’s second biggest. Jabbar Amin Jaber, Basra Council chairman, said: “More than $100 million (116.5 billion Dinars) were allocated to begin the construction within the next couple of days.”

The airport will be brought up to international standards, and infrastructure in the surrounding area, including electricity on the roads leading to the airport, will also be upgraded.

It has spent much of its existence, spanning six decades, closed due to the two Gulf Wars and the Iraq War. Now it has several dozen international flights every day.

The Gulf Cup comprises of eight nations competing in football, volleyball, handball and basketball.

(Sources: AKnews)

Overview

Levels of violence fell last week, but the past 48 hours have seen three suicide attacks in the central provinces, killing dozens and injuring over 200. As with the recent spate in assassinations in the centre of the country, the main target of the suicide bombers were state employees and members of the Iraqi security forces. Shi’ah pilgrims were also killed in one of the attacks, and with more religious worshippers set to travel to Karbala over the coming week for Arba’een, further similar roadside attacks should be anticipated.

Weekly Violence in Iraq

North

The north has remained quieter than normal for over a month now but last week the Kurdish Asayesh uncovered a cache of weapons in Arbil which were believed to have belonged to Sunni terrorist group Ansar al-Islam. It has not been reported how old the cache was or whether or not it was intended for use in the near future. Terrorism remains a potential risk in Kurdistan, although conditions are significantly safer than the rest of the country, not least because of the professionalism of the local security forces. In the neighbouring and more hostile province of Ninawa an Iraqi soldier shot and killed two US troops and injured another last week. Military sources indicate that the attacker was killed immediately after. Occasional skirmishes have occurred between military forces during training exercises in the past. The problem is raising fears that the Iraqi security forces may not be ready for their increased responsibilities once the US military has withdrawn by the end of the year.

Centre

The calm of a relatively quiet week in the central provinces was shattered by three suicide attacks over the course of the last two days. Over 60 people were killed and 200 injured in the incidents which targeted police recruits in Tikrit (Salah ad-Din province) as well as police forces, provincial councillors and Shi’ah pilgrims around Ba’qubah (Diyala province). By targeting state employees and members of the security forces the attackers are intent on weakening the state and undermining public confidence in their abilities. The Shi’ah victims of the latest attack may have been coincidental as they were travelling in the same convoy as the provincial councillors. Nonetheless, a large number of Shi’ah worshippers will congregate and travel to the holy city of Karbala over the coming days in preparation for the religious period of Arba’een. Pilgrims were targeted on their way to Karbala for the holy period of Ashura in December but attacks were less common than in previous years. If the Iraqi security forces increase searches at security checkpoints and restrict travel flows to key areas of worship it may result in a similarly lower number of attacks in the coming week. Nonetheless attacks should still be anticipated, particularly on main routes and around mosques in the central region and in the capital. Already terrorist cells are reported to have been detained around Karbala city itself. As well as the risk of attacks in the coming week personnel are advised to factor in extra time for journeys around the region as congestion may be worse than normal and routes may be closed in the event of any violence.

Location of the latest suicide bombings

South

While the south has been relatively quiet over recent weeks a jail break in Basrah highlighted not only that criminal elements remain a concern in the region, but that many have accomplices and allies within the authorities and state security forces. This is a concerning blend and demonstrates that the security clampdown in Basrah in 2008 did not eradicate the ties between militants and the public sector. A roadside bomb also targeted a US military patrol on a main route near Basra Airport and while no casualties were reported it should serve a reminder that vehicles – particularly high profile vehicles associated with foreigners – remain at risk of being attacked in what is otherwise a more stable part of the country.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE Group, a British private security firm working in Iraq from before 2003. Further details on the company can be found at www.akegroup.com/iraq

You can also follow John on twitter at www.twitter.com/johnfdrake

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Overview

Levels of violence fell in Iraq last week for the third week in a row. However, conditions have started to deteriorate once again with a rise in attacks since Sunday, particularly in the central provinces and Baghdad. The number of terrorist attacks is likely to increase further over the coming days, despite numerous police operations, heightened levels of security and dozens of recent arrests, with the main militant focus being on Shi’ah pilgrims gathering to commemorate al-‘Ashura.

North

Last week was very quiet in the north of Iraq, with Mosul and Kirkuk seeing an unusually low number of attacks. A small protest in Sulaymaniyah turned violent on 9 December with three people injured in scuffles with the police. The demonstration was against the construction of a fuel station on land previously allocated for a hospital. However, this should not be taken as grounds for concern about safety levels in Kurdistan. The clash was far less violent than protests taking place at the same time in central London, although the construction sector is reminded of the possibility of discontent with building proposals. Consultation with local communities is always recommended as one of the most effective means of mitigating security risks.

Centre

Around half of the attacks recorded in Iraq last week took place in the capital alone, although there was also a spate of terrorist attacks in other central areas such as eastern Anbar province and western Diyala province. The security forces managed to prevent a number of suicide bombers from attacking police and civilian targets, although a provincial government building was hit in Ramadi and a Shi’ah procession was attacked near Ba’qubah. The government building was likely targeted in retaliation for a recent spate of police arrests, while Shi’ah religious travellers are likely to suffer more attacks over the coming days. Many will be travelling to Karbala for the religious event of al-‘Ashura (further details on the event are contained here).

South

The south was relatively free of violence last week, although US military bases and convoys continue to be attacked on a fairly regular basis. US installations continue to come under mortar fire, while high-profile vehicles continue to suffer occasional roadside blasts. Fortunately, casualties are infrequent although the US military recently pointed out that attacks around Basrah Airport continue to disrupt flight schedules and deter would-be investors. While militancy was tackled in the region in early 2008 there are still threat groups around Basrah with the intent and capability of targeting foreign interests, both civilian and military.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE Group, a British private security firm working in Iraq from before 2003. Further details on the company can be found at www.akegroup.com/iraq

You can also follow John on twitter at www.twitter.com/johnfdrake

AKE Group

Baghdad’s airport road was considered the most dangerous motorway in the world, but the city is now turning it into “the most beautiful street in the world”, according to AFP.

The US military had called it ”RPG alley” (that’s rocket-propelled grenade), as road users were at the receiving end of particularly frequent attacks during 2006 and 2007. The road itself took a double beating from explosions and lack of maintenance, but it is now safer and heavily protected.

Baghdad mayor Saber al-Issawi said on Sunday that he will beautify the road before the city hosts the Arab League summit next March.

Iraq’s government has budgeted more than US$80 billion for infrastructure development, many of which are focusing on a number of large projects relating to construction and roads. Al-Issawi said: “More than 23 international companies from seven countries…will start at the end of this month to develop a large number of streets and places in Baghdad.”

“Included in those is Baghdad International Airport street, which extends from Baghdad airport to the Green Zone, at a cost of $200m, to transform it into the most beautiful street in the world.”

In all, for the summit, Baghdad is going to redevelop 50 roads and areas at a cost of $425m.

(Source: AFP, IRaq Business News)

…and it looks like it is going to get it.

Iraq has lofty investment targets for the next five years. Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission, told Reuters:

“We’d like to go ahead and shoot for $600 billion. We hope of course we can realize it, but we will be very happy if we realize a good percentage of it. That’s if we pass the 50% in a solid way.”

This does not seem too far-fetched. New deals are reported in a steady stream by Iraq Business News, from budgets of $75m to complete hundreds of small deals to  a $50bn deal to build one million housing units for millions of people.

It doesn’t stop there. ”If we go for the two million housing units, by itself, that will give us a good chunk of that mark,” Araji continued in his interview. “As of today, 132 companies have applied. We are concentrating on 35.”

Just this week, Baghdad Province completed deals with Russian and Ukrainian companies worth $20bn for projects in various sectors: bridges, education, energy, health, roads, sewers, tourism, water and youth.

A statement from the Office of the Mayor of Baghdad, Salah Abdul-Razzaq, said that the projects include “building nine hospitals accommodating 200 beds and 400 schools with laboratories, cafeterias and gymnasiums. There are other projects in the fields of housing and tourism through building a hotel at Baghdad International Airport and 50,000 housing units.”

“Other projects include transport field through building an expressway adjacent to Tigris river 250 km long…which contributes to transport 10,000 passengers an hour, in addition to building five bridges in different areas of the capital and other projects in the field of youth including building 14 swimming pools, 20 entertainment and sports clubs, 12 women’s clubs, football and basketball fields and 28 houses for culture and arts; and a power station with capacity of 1,300 mw will be built as well.”

(Sources: Reuters, Nina, Office of the Mayor of Baghdad)

More than $150bn of airport and logistics infrastructure is being considered, according to estimates reported by AME Info FZ. Interested bidders include British Aviation Group, German Airports Group, Gulf Ground Handling Association, Middle East Aerospace Consortium, and others.

The first exhibition to get air investment truly off the ground will be the Iraq Airport Expansion, Cargo Logistics Conference and Exhibition. It is being held from the 6th to the 7th April 2011 in the city of Erbil, Kurdistan, which has a new, $550m airport with the fourth longest runway in the world.

Air expansion is being supported by increasing numbers of airline routes to Iraq, with Gulf News reporting yesterday yet another route opened from Dubai from budget airline flydubai. Flydubai has just 26 routes, but now two of them are to Kurdistan with the first to Erbil and the new second one to Sulaimaniyah. Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “The service to Sulaimaniyah underlines Flydubai’s commitment and confidence in the country of Iraq, which has attracted a lot of investment from the UAE.”

There has been a steady stream of new routes to Iraq, with Aigle Azur, for example, announcing a Paris to Baghdad route two weeks ago and Air Berlin setting up two routes from Dusseldorf: again to Erbil and Sulaimaniyah.

(Source: AME Info FZ and GulfNews)

A group of Swiss and Russian firms have completed the designs of a civil airport in Amara city, Maysan province, according to a report in Aswat al-Iraq.

“The airport will be like others constructed by the group in Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Libya,” a source from the group told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Thursday.

He explained that the designs were executed according to an agreement signed by the group in April, 2010.

The agency also reports that a delegation from a group of Russian, Swiss, and Ukrainian firms had a meeting in Amara city with the Missan Provincial Council, to discuss further investment projects in the province.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

Business is booming at Sulaimaniyah International Airport, with more than 2,000 flights since the beginning of 2010.

From January 2010 to the end of August, there were 2,381 flights to and from the airport, Dana Mohammad the media director of the airport, told AKnews.

A total of 107,581 passengers have flown through the airport during this period. Of this figure, 55,060 were inbound passengers, including 40,962 foreigners, according to Mohammed.

On average there were 10 flights daily through the airport in the first eight months of 2010.

In Nov. 2003, the current prime minister of Kurdistan, Barham Salih [Barham Saleh], laid the foundation stone of Sulaimaniyah International Airport and two years later in July 2005 the airport was inaugurated.

(Source: AKnews)