MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome by Zaha Hadid Architects has won the coveted £20,000 RIBA Stirling Prize 2010, in association with The Architects Journal and Benchmark. The presentation of the UK's premier architectural award took place at a special awards ceremony this evening (Saturday 2 October) at The Roundhouse in […]
Representatives from the Ministries of Education, Higher Education and Finance from Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government gathered in Erbil during a three-day meeting for the modernisation of the education sector in Iraq. From 23 to 25 September, 2010, UNESCO and UNICEF launched the first national workshop for education of the joint "Iraq Public Sector […]
A second tranche of a World Bank loan to Iraq, amounting to $741 million [890 billion Iraqi dinars], will be allocated for the improvement of the country’s electricity sector, an Iraqi academician and economist said on Sunday. “The agreement between Iraq and the World Bank offered Iraq a $3.6-billion credit, the first tranche of which […]
Iraq again postponed its first census in more than two decades because of political wrangling over disputed areas in the country's north, deputy planning minister Mehdi al-Alak said on Sunday, according to a report from AFP. The October 24 census has now been delayed until December 5, the latest in a string of deferrals that […]
Iraq is set to announce a "big increase" in its oil reserves on Monday, which currently stand at 115 billion barrels, a spokesman for the oil ministry said. Iraq's crude reserves are the world's third largest but its production rate is low thanks to years of sanctions, under-investment and war. Baghdad has signed a series […]
Iraq offers $200 billion investment opportunities to foreign investors, making it one of the most lucrative investment destinations in the region, an Iraqi government adviser said on Thurday. "To be or not to be is not the question here as huge investment opportunities do exist in Iraq and the government will ensure the security to […]
Iraqi banks need to raise at least $10 billion [12 trillion Iraqi dinars] in fresh capital over the next three years to prepare for the expected oil-fuelled construction boom and meet new regulatory requirements, Reuters quotes an investor. Iraq has signed multi-billion deals with oil firms to boost output capacity to 12 million barrels a […]
On the last day of the Erbil international construction trade fair, a joint venture was signed between a Turkish and a UAE company to invest in the housing and construction sector in Iraq. Project Iraq 2010, which was the 32nd international fair opened in Erbil since 2005 and the 6th this year, finished on Thursday. […]
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) said on Friday that it was releasing $741m [890 billion Iraqi dinars] in financing to Iraq after the country made good progress in reconstructing its war-torn economy. AFP reports that the loan is the second installment of a 24-month loan the IMF awarded to Iraq in February. The IMF executive […]
Ninewa is actively seeking to entice foreign investors to the province, according to Ninewa's Governor, Atheel al-Nejeifi, said on Friday. “The province has tabled proposals to the local council to set up investment firms in numerous fields, including an airlines company,” Nejeifi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The Ninewa Investment Commission had said in August […]
One striking characteristic of business in Iraq is the extent of state-ownership of enterprise and assets. Mudher Kasim, a senior advisor to Iraq's Central Bank, claimed that “the problem in Iraq is that 90 percent of the wealth of the nation is in the hands of the government. So centralism always dominates the mindset everywhere”. […]
Iraq issued tenders to redevelop "more than 10" industrial plants as part of a plan to revamp 250 state-owned facilities through private investors, an industry ministry official said, according to a report from Bloomberg. Deputy Minister Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed said the plants are mainly producing cement, petrochemicals, steel and pharmaceuticals, and the contracts are for […]
