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A new review has shown that the health of Iraqis will continue to deteriorate unless there is an improvement in living conditions.

Despite enormous investment in Iraq’s health system in the 10 years since the US-led invasion, the health condition of Iraqis has worsened.

A review led by Professor Salman Rawaf (pictured) from Imperial College London concludes that continual investment in health services is crucial to elevate the health status of the Iraqi population, but that progress will be limited without improvements in housing, water and sanitation, electricity, transport, agriculture, education and employment.

Published in Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine the study involved several field visits to Iraq between 2011 and 2013. Professor Rawaf, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said:

“There have been many attempts to come up with solutions that can help channel the resources needed to make Iraq’s health system more effective. But our review showed that strategists and planners have a blind spot when it comes to the work that needs to be done to improve all aspects of living which play a vital role in positively affecting the health status of the people.”

The authors found that housing conditions in Iraq are in a dire state for the majority of the population, with half a million people living in squatter settlements. While the government is building 25,000 housing units a year, the current need is for three million. The infrastructure for water and sanitation is too old and is a source of illness for many people. Even in oil-rich Basra the water supply is not suitable for human consumption.

The national electricity supply is limited to 40 per cent, forcing the public to purchase electricity privately or rely on noisy domestic power generators that increase CO2 emissions and noise pollution. Roads are in poor condition and road traffic injuries unacceptably high.

By John Lee.

Korean company LS Industrial Systems (LSIS) said on Wednesday that it has signed a $52 million deal with the Iraqi government to supply its patented advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solutions.

The company will supply 110,000 smart meters that track energy consumption at power transmission centers in Iraq. The transmission centers will then share all relevant information with the power distribution control center to simplify smart grid management. LSIS will also build 19 AMI centers across the country.

According to a report from the Korea Times, the deal brings the company’s total business dealings in Iraq to $500 million since 2011, most of it in power plant contruction.

"The latest achievement means that LSIS can supply integrated electricity solutions in all related areas other than power development in Iraq," said spokesman Kim Bong-kyu.

(Sources: Korea Times, Korea Joongang Daily)

This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Ninawa’s Planned Oil Refinery Moves Sunni-Led Region even Further from Baghdad

The northern Sunni-led region of Ninawa has been planning its own oil refinery for some time now. And last month the foundations were laid. Some say the refinery means that Ninawa is flouting the wishes of the government in Baghdad, planning independence and most controversially, joining forces with Iraqi Kurdistan.

On April 16, 2014, authorities in the northern Iraqi province of Ninawa laid the foundation stones for the first oil refinery in the area. The move comes after a succession of crises between the Shiite Muslim-led federal government in Baghdad and Sunni Muslim-led provincial authorities in Ninawa.

Of course, as conflicts between Ninawa's neighbouring region of Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad have proven, undertaking big oil projects without Baghdad's express permission can be risky. The Iraqi Kurdish have been moving toward oil production independence for some time now and the most recent projects have seen what some have described as a damaging ”financial blockade” of the semi-autonomous region by Baghdad.

“It is not true that the contract Ninawa has signed with the KAR Group to build a refinery in the Hamadaniyah area, in the east of Mosul, is illegal,” Ninawa's governor, Atheel al-Nujaifi (pictured), told NIQASH. “The council was included at every step. The company, KAR, won the contract after it was put out to tender – the company beat out some other companies, including a Turkish one,” he noted.

Additionally Ninawa would be cooperating with Iraqi Kurdistan to get the oil refined. “This cooperation reflects the hope for a common future based on Arab-Kurdish cooperation,” al-Nujaifi continued. “We aim to build a stable region, where resources are developed, rather than used to kill our sons.”

By John Lee.

Al Shorfa has reported an announcement by the provincial governor of Baghdad Riyadh al-Adhadh that infrastructure projects worth 200 billion dinars ($172 million) will be launched shortly in the towns surrounding Baghdad.

While the provincial governor announced the news, it is notable that Baghdad's controversial mayor Naim Abub al-Kaabi  has come under fire in recent months for failure to complete infrastructure projects amid rumours of corruption, according to the subscription news letter Inside Iraqi Politics. 

The new projects will cover water purification, roads, electricity and sanitation, and will be carried out in Abu Ghraib, al-Mahmoudiyyah, al-Taji, al-Yusufiyyah, al-Tarmiya, Jisr Diyala and al-Sada.

(Source: Al Shorfa)

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) announces the publication of its Annual Financial Report for 2013, a detailed and comprehensive guide to the financial operations of MNR.

The report includes revenue figures from crude oil production, local crude oil sales, the selling of refined products, and bonuses and capacity-building support derived from the KRG's production sharing contracts with international oil companies.

Also detailed are MNR’s operational expenditures and overheads as well as the funding of a significant number of projects managed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and by the individual governorates of the Region.

Costs for the purchase of diesel, kerosene and benzene for use in the Region’s power plants, in local industry and agriculture, and in people’s homes are included in the report.

Because it is the first of its kind, the 2013 report also contains comparative earnings and expenditure tables for the six previous years. Nevertheless, for completeness MNR will soon publish separate annual financial reports for each of the years 2007-2012.

From 2007-2013, MNR created gross revenue of US$9,714,331,861. Its gross expenditure over the same period amounted to US$8,794,110,220. Of this, after costs of refining, transportation and logistics, some US$5.85 billion was spent on projects for the Kurdistan Region.

The revenues derived to date have been within the limits of the 17% crude oil refining and internal consumption rights of the Kurdistan Region and are being used to fund the provision of electricity, new hospitals, fresh water units, housing for Anfal victims, new schools, universities and roads, and to help diversify the economic base through agriculture and tourism.

The Kurdistan Region is open for business and British companies are welcomed, Kurdish officials told members of British Expertise, a leading trade association at a seminar last week.

Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Department of Foreign Relations, and Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG's High Representative to the UK, were joined by Alex Lambeth, Director of British Expertise, in highlighting the business opportunities and investor-friendly laws in the region.

The seminar was part of a series of meetings by Minister Mustafa who was in the UK on an official visit. The Minister was accompanied by Siham Mamand, the Assistant Head of the DFR, and High Representative Abdul Rahman during the visit which included meetings with British officials, parliamentarians, journalists and think tanks.

Minister Mustafa told the seminar at British Expertise, 'There is huge potential in many areas of the economy and we like to do business with the British. Foreign Secretary William Hague recognised this when he made the decision to increase the number of staff at the British Consulate in Erbil a few years ago while other British diplomatic missions were facing cuts.'

The minister outlined the key areas the KRG is promoting - tourism, agriculture and manufacturing - so that the economy is not over reliant on oil.

He also updated the meeting on political developments, relations with Turkey, the Syrian refugee crisis and the forthcoming Iraqi elections.

Ms Abdul Rahman spoke about the Kurdish economy's rapid growth over the past decade, which has been achieved thanks to high levels of security, clear economic policies that focus on services such as the provision of electricity, and the development of an oil and gas sector from scratch in the past seven years.

She urged Britain to make visas access easier for business visitors, to start direct flights and for British ministers to lead trade delegations to Kurdistan in the same way as other European countries do.

British Expertise members had a range of questions, including on Kurdistan's trade relations with Scotland and Northern Ireland, the KRG's procurement methods and the impact of Syrian refugees on the economy.

(Source: KRG)

By Mustafa al-Kadhimi for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

With the launch earlier this month of campaigns for the April 30 parliamentary elections, Iraq is back to debating the fact that none of the political blocs has put forward an electoral program or platform. The blocs, misunderstanding the concept of a political program, have instead reduced them to vague slogans.

The Iraqi political forces competing in the elections justify the absence of real programs by asserting that Iraq remains in transition, so there are real differences over the basis of the political process — such as the Constitution, government formation, the decision-making process and the relationship between the central government and the provinces and the regions.

They claim that this reality forces them to take positions on these particular issues, rather than presenting political programs. For example, some campaigns are sloganeering on amending the Constitution, while others' slogans invoke government formation by the political majority, decentralization and the war on terror.

Being in a transitional phase and disagreeing over political fundamentals do not, however, justify lacking an economic or development program or taking positions on such issues as housing, health, education, human development, and human rights and freedoms.

To be fair, a few political forces such as the Supreme Islamic Council have presented detailed programs, but the problem is then that the Iraqi voter is faced with a choice between a detailed program and lots of attractive slogans.

Alstom has been awarded a contract worth approximately €225 million to provide power generation equipment for the Al-Anbar gas-fired combined-cycle power plant being built in the Anbar province in Iraq.

A consortium of Metka SA and Metka Overseas Ltd is building the power plant for the Ministry of Electricity of Iraq.

The 1,642 MW power plant, due to be commissioned in 2016, will add much needed electricity to the Iraqi grid. Once in operation, it will be one of the largest and most efficient combined-cycle power plants in Iraq.

Under the scope of the contract, Alstom will supply four highly efficient GT26 gas turbines, four Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG’s), two steam turbines and six air-cooled turbogenerators.

Commenting on the contract, Steve Meszaros, Senior Vice-President of Alstom’s Gas business said:

“The Middle East is the most promising market for gas-fired generation and we are extremely pleased at expanding our presence in this region. Alstom has been a steady partner in the reconstruction of Iraq’s energy infrastructure and we are confident that our superior technology will make Al-Anbar a flagship project for the country”.

Alstom is currently constructing the Al-Mansuriya (728MW) gas-fired power plant in the Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad and has also recently signed the 740 MW Zubair contract with ENI Iraq B.V. These plants are based on the GT13E2 gas turbine.

Alstom has also supplied the gas turbine for the Al-Najaf power plant that went into operation last year. Alstom continues to support the rehabilitation of Iraq’s existing installed base including unit 1 of the Najaf gas-fired power station, 160 km south of Baghdad.

(Source: Alstom)

Gazprom Neft, operator of the Badra oilfield development project (pictured), has appointed a contractor to lay the pipeline connecting the field to the power station in Zubaidiah (Wasit Province). The tender was won by Pakistani company Techno Engineering Services (Pvt.) Ltd.

In line with the contract, Techno Engineering Services will produce the designs, supply the equipment and materials, and carry out construction of the pipeline. First gas transportation via the pipeline, which is almost 100 km in length and has a daily capacity of 4.4 million cubic metres (circa 1.6 billion cubic metres per year), is planned for 2015.

Under Gazprom Neft's contract with the Iraqi government for the development of the Badra oil field, investors are to be compensated for costs related to infrastructure construction.

Gas supply from the Badra oil field will enhance the Zubaidiah power station's daily power output and provide a 24-hour power supply to the city of Kut, which currently has electricity supplied for only 16 hours per day. Some of the extracted gas will be used to provide electricity to the Badra oil fields themselves.

In March Gazprom Neft completed testing on a second well at Badra. The laying and testing of the oil pipeline to the Gharraf oilfield was completed in February, connecting the section to Iraq's main pipeline system. The construction of the first phase of a central gathering station point with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day is nearing completion. Work has also started on a gas treatment plant with the capacity to process 1.5 billion cubic metres per year.

(Source: Gazprom Neft)

Ventyx, an ABB company, has announced that it has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Electricity (MOE) in Iraq to provide state-of-the-art energy management systems that will help improve the availability, performance and reliability of power supplies in Iraq from main control centers in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Basra.

The agreement is part of a major initiative to help rebuild a modern and reliable electricity transmission system for Iraq. The MOE is upgrading its existing Regional Control Centers (RCCs) by replacing legacy systems with an integrated solution that comprises Ventyx Network Manager SCADA EMS (supervisory control and data acquisition and energy management system) software.

Once upgraded, the control centers will provide operators with a system-wide view of the grid’s condition, enabling smooth operations as well as the rapid detection and correction of faults. The RCCs, jointly with the National Dispatch center (NDC), will be the backbone for the real-time monitoring, supervision and control of the country’s transmission grid.

By gaining greater visibility of its transmission network, MOE can reduce congestion and improve power availability and reliability – helping to avoid unplanned outages by rerouting power as needed. MOE will also be able to schedule planned outages, enabling its power plants to go offline for maintenance, as well as monitor “tie points” with surrounding nations so that power resources can be optimally shared between countries.

Ventyx will also provide extensive training, equipment maintenance and diagnostics services, as well as remote support services to ensure the smooth running of the transmission network.