A 3,000 acre industrial town is to be built in the Arbat district of Sulaymaniyah Governorate, according to a report from AKnews.

Sulaymaniyah Investment Commission met with a number of private companies this week to discuss the master plan for “The Industrial Town of Arbat District”, which will involve an initial investment of $3 billion USD (3,500 billion IQD).

Yasin Mahmoud, spokesman for Kurdistan Investors Union, told AKnews the construction of almost 450 factories of various sizes will begin this year because all formal bureaucratic boxes have been ticked.

Mahmoud said that Iran is especially interested in the project because the EU and U.S. are imposing economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic. It hopes the project is launched soon so that it can rescue some of its factories by relocating them to Arbat district, explains Mahmoud.

“It will become a very important project for Sulaymaniyah because it will change the city from a tourist destination to an industrial hub,” he added.

Farman Gharib, Sulaymaniyah investment director told AKnews that after the master plan for the project is approved, the plan will be opened to competing companies to bid for spaces.

(Source: AKnews)

Iraq’s second largest museum in Sulaimaniya is recovering stolen artifacts by paying smugglers to return the treasures, as CNN reports:

(Source: CNN)

Once the farms around the city of Sulaymaniyah provided all of the fruit and vegetables locals needed. Now climate change, pollution and illegal dumping in local waterways are forcing farmers out.

“We can no longer grow vegetables here, that time has come to an end,” lamented farmer Mohammed Aziz. “The water is so dirty that we don’t even dare get near it,” the 55-year-old said, pointing toward the Tanjero River, once a chief source of water for farming here.

Aziz used to grow vegetables and other crops but since major amounts of sewage began being discharged into this small river, he and his fellow farmers can no longer benefit from what they describe as once fertile land. The waters of the Tanjero River, which runs southwest of the city of Sulaymaniyah and flow into the Darbandikhan Lake, are now unsuitable for agricultural use.

“In the past, the water was not clean either,” Aziz admits. “But it was good enough and we used it. At that time, not all sewage went into the river. But now all of the sewage goes into the river and the river has become so polluted that farmers are being forced to leave their land and abandon agriculture.”

This has been confirmed by Nature Iraq, an environmental action group with links to United Nations eco-projects, that has initiated a community awareness project, called the Iraq Upper Tigris Waterkeeper Project. Nature Iraq has tested the waters of Tanjero and Darbandikhan Lake (pictured).

Faruk Group Holding, a group of companies with a diversified range of interests including telecommunications, cement manufacturing, hotels, medical services, properties, construction and IT, recently announced the upcoming launch of the first international boutique hotel, Copthorne Hotel, Baranan in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

The Copthorne Hotel Baranan is a four-star hotel located in the tourist district of Sulaymaniyah. Built on a site covering 1,320 m2, it has a floor area of 9,198 m2. The seven-storey hotel offers a contemporary setting with 72 guest rooms, 6 suites, 8 service rooms and 7 elevators. Amenities include meeting rooms, an all day dining restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a cigar bar and a Duplex Entertainment Center.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Faruk Mustafa Rasool, Chairman of Faruk Group Holding said:

“The development of the hospitality sector is an important factor as Faruk Group Holding has always been in the forefront of our country’s development. Launching Copthorne Hotel is another step in our strategic expansion plans as Iraq’s largest and most respected private company.”

Faruk Group Holding continues to invest in the hospitality sector to attract more visitors to Sulaymaniyah and provide international quality accommodation for guests and tourists from all over the world; as well as corporate clients, exhibition delegates, and other business and leisure visitors.

Faruk Group Holding created Asiacell, the largest Iraqi private company, the first and only mobile company covering all of Iraq’s 18 governorates.

Hundreds of protesters inspired by unrest around the Arab world took to the streets of the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya on Sunday and at least 48 people were injured, according to Reuters. Associated Press reports at least one person killed overnight.

A source told Iraq Business News that a massive demonstration is planned for Baghdad on Friday, to protest the lack of jobs, and shortages of electricity, water and food.

A police official in Sulaimaniya said security forces fired in the air when demonstrators chanting against corruption tried to approach the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, where clashes on Thursday killed two people and wounded dozens.

“Hospitals in Sulaimaniya received 48 wounded people including 19 police and security forces,” said a health official who asked not to be named. “There are 11 people wounded by gunshots.”

Gunmen raided and set fire to a television station in the city, shutting down broadcasts of the protests, station and government officials said.

The protesters are seeking better public services, the ouster of local officials and other demands. Similar rallies took place in Falluja and other locations.

In Baghdad, the cabinet decided to have ministers visit demonstrators to soothe anger over corruption, shortages of food and electricity and other issues behind a series of protests that have triggered skirmishes with security forces.

Unlike their regional counterparts, Iraqi protesters generally have not been calling for the removal of their elected government, installed just two months ago after months of tense negotiations between political factions. Dictator Saddam Hussein was swept away by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The raid on NRT satellite channel in Sulaimaniya was carried out by 50 masked gunmen wearing security force uniforms who sprayed the station with gunfire, smashed equipment, wounded a guard and lit fires, Twana Othman, the station’s manager, said.

NRT had aired coverage of violent protests in Sulaimaniya last week.

Bahrouz Mohammed, the local governor, condemned the attack and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Those saboteurs who attacked the TV station are trying undermine stability in Sulaimaniya,” he said in a statement.

In the western city of Falluja, about 300 protesters demanded the firing of the governor and provincial council members in Anbar province. Dozens of people rallied for jobs in the southern province of Nassiriya, Abdul Hadi Mohan, deputy head of the provincial council, said.

The cabinet decision to reach out to protesters underscored politicians’ concerns over growing unrest.

(Source: Reuters, Associated Press)

Sinoma (Suzhou) Construction Company, a subsidiary of the Chinese Sinoma International Engineering, has signed a $112.5-million deal with Iraq-based investment firm Mass Iraq for the construction of a cement plant.

Both parties will build a cement plant with an annual capacity of 5,300 tons per day in Sulaymaniyah.

The scope of the deal includes the design, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning, trial production and the final examination by standard of the raw material storage to the whole production line.

The project is expected to take two years from the day the contract takes effect.

Sinoma International Engineering is engaged in manufacture and distribution of mechanical equipment, along with engineering and installation of cement production lines. The company operates its businesses in domestic and overseas markets.

(Source: WCN)

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

AKnews reports that the first direct flight between Sulaimaniya and the Qatari capital, Doha, commenced on Wednesday.

Dana Mohammed, media secretary for Sulaimaniya International Airport, told AKnews on Thursday that the route is being operated by FlyDubai, the UAE-based budget carrier, in conjunction with the local Zozg and Azmar airlines, and will offer two flight per week.

The inaugural flight carried FlyDubai executives to Sulaimaniya, one of the three provinces in the Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq. The new route opened after the airport and the airline executives brokered a deal in October.

Flydubai flight to Sulaimaniyah is the airline’s second destination in Iraq. It already flies to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

FlyDubai airline was launched in 2009. The new carrier has expanded rapidly using a fleet of new Boeing 737-800 planes. It currently operates around 20 routes in the Middle East, Gulf region, Asia, Europe and Africa.

(Source: AKnews)