By John Lee.
The Governor of Diwaniya has announced a major agricultural investment project in the desert of Al-Shanafiyah district, expected to create over 10,000 jobs.
Abbas Sha'il Al-Zamili said that the investment company is starting soil tests on the 26,000 dunums [2,600 hectare; 6,400 acre] site, with a view to cultivating date palm trees and agricultural crops.
State-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) says the company involved is the "Al-Muhandis Investment Company", which Iraq Business News understands to be the Muhandis General Company (Sharakat al-Muhandis al-Amma), a powerful new subsidiary of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) thought to be modeled on Iran's famous Khatam al-Anbia.
It quotes the company's Executive Director, Salah Mahdi, as saying that the company is working on building facilities to grow vegetables using hydroponics, in cooperation with a Spanish company.
The company was also recently reported to be developing another date-palm plantation in neighbouring Muthanna governorate.
(Source: INA)
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