First Iraq, Now Libya
As many readers of Iraq Business News will already be aware, our sister publication, Libya Business News, has now been running for more than six months, and we are pleased to report that it's going from strength to strength. Clearly the two countries are in different stages of development, politically as well as economically, but […]
Italian Firm Wins $247m Iraq Housing Deal
Bloomberg reports that Italy’s Consorzio Stabile Italia 2010 won a $247 million contract to build 2,000 homes in Diwaniya. The project is to be completed within three years on the southwestern side of Diwaniya city, Majid al-Mehanna, spokesman for the Diwaniya Investment Commission, told the agency on Wednesday. He added that the province needs 100,000 […]
Iraq Registers 46 Foreign Companies in May
The Iraqi Trade Ministry registered 247 local and 46 foreign companies during the month of May, reports AKnews. Director Fryal Akram said the directorate registered 43 offices of foreign companies and three branches of foreign companies. She added that the directorate checked the final accounts of 2,262 national companies for the period 2002 until 2011, […]
China Increases Presence in Iraq
China's Commercial Attache in Iraq, Wang Shi Tong [Wang Xi Tong], has said that Beijing will open a consulate office in its Baghdad embassy to facilitate Iraqis applying for visas to enter China. The office will be opened at the end of 2012. According to the report from AIN, he added that the Chinese consultancy […]
Integrity Commission Highlights Fraud at Rafidain Bank
Iraq's Commission on Integrity has revealed details of fraudulent credit operations in the Ministry of Defense's branch of Rafidain Bank, noting that the director of the bank granted illegal loans in excess of "150 billion Iraqi dinars" ($129 million). The commission said that the director of the bank allowed conditions for the granting of loans […]
First Flights between Tehran and Kurdistan Region
Flights between Tehran and the Kurdistan Region began for the first time on Monday, said Tehran-based Mahan Airlines. Hossein Hosseini, the Director of Marketing for the airline, said “We are delighted to announce Erbil as our first new route for 2012. We have seen significant growth in Northern Iraq economy during past two years and […]
Polish Company Starts $26m Housing Project in Wassit
The governor of Wassit, Mahdi al-Zubaidi, laid the cornerstone on Friday for a 31-billion-dinar ($26 million) project to develop residential areas in the city of Kut. According to the report from Aswat al-Iraq, the project will be completed within 720 days by a Polish company. (Source: Aswat al-Iraq)
New Bridge Opens in Salahaddin
Iraq's Ministry of Housing and Construction has completed the Shirqat Concrete Bridge project in Salahaddin province, at a cost of 11 billion Iraqi dinars ($9.2 million). A statement from the Ministry said that the bridge will contribute to smoothing traffic flow in the region, and will help the economy by improving the transportation of commodities […]
Weekly Security Update for 13th June 2012
Levels of violence rose in Iraq last week. At least 79 people were killed and 207 injured in nationwide incidents, more than double the figure recorded the previous week. A total of 21 non-suicide bomb attacks left 24 people dead and 36 injured. This is a relatively standard figure for the country. However, a suicide […]
Iraqi Kurdistan Needs 5,000 New Homes a Year
Iraqi Kurdistan needs to spend 200 billion dinars ($172 million) a year on homebuilding, an adviser to the housing ministry, Ammar al- Najjar, told Bloomberg in an interview. “We are capable of resolving the housing crisis in the coming 10 years through building 5,000 units a year ...We’ll need 200 billion dinars a year to […]
CNOOC Digs First Oil Well in Maysan Province
AIN reports that the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has started to dig its first oil well in the Fakka oil field in eastern Maysan [Missan] province. A statement from the Missan Oil Company said that the project to develope the Maysan oil fields of Bazergan [Buzurgan], Fakka, and Abo Gharab [Abu Ghirab] has […]
Sonoro Enters into Drilling Rig Purchase Agreement
Sonoro Energy has announce that the company, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to purchase a drilling rig for their planned asphalt operations in Salah ad Din Province. The drilling rig will be transferred to a joint venture company ("JV Co"), to be established by Sonoro and its partners, Berkeley Petroleum Mesopotamia […]