Water Supply Problems in Maysan
The volume of waters from the Tigris River reaching Iraq has been receding to the extent that several water purification plants in the Province of Missan [Maysan] are running without water. Mohannad Kadhem, the head of water purification and distribution in the southern province, said the problem started with tributaries belonging to the river feeding […]
Baghdad Clamps Down on Unlicensed Liquor Stores
Stores selling alcohol in the Iraqi capital were shut down by the Baghdad provincial council on Monday amid protests from their owners, according to a report from AKnews. Store owners were caught by surprise when police patrols arrived unannounced at their premises with orders from the provincial council to close down all unlicensed shops and […]
It’s the rentier economy, stupid!
The protests in Iraq, while obviously inspired by those in other Arab countries, have a different focus. The latter have been primarily about politics. In Iraq the protestors’ demands center on economic problems. They want more jobs and electricity and less corruption. Due to its natural resource endowment, Iraq is an example of what political […]
New Iraq Oil Prices for April
Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices for its Basra Light and Kirkuk crude grades for March. In common with some other countries, Iraq’s oil is priced relative to regional benchmark prices: For shipments to US, contracts are priced are relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI); Shipments to […]
$6.3bn Grand Faw Port Tender by End-2011
Reuters, quoting Iraq's Minister for Transport, reports that a tender will be issued by the end of this year for the building of the multibillion-dollar 'Grand Faw' port south of Basra. Talks are ongoing with investors from Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the UAE to help finance the project. After a presentation of the project's […]
Vehicle Imports from Iran Drop Sharply
Vehicle imports through the Haji Omaran [Haj Omran, Haj Umran] border crossing (pictured) on the Iranian border north of Erbil have dropped by 73 per cent, from 2,000 cars per month in 2010 to 1,195 vehicles in the first two month of 2011, according to a report from AK News. Salar Omar, vehicles department official […]
Plans to Move Electricity Supply Underground
A spokesman for the ministry of electricity has reported that plans are being considered to move the national grid underground, in order to prevent citizens illegally taking power supplies directly from overhead distribution lines. Musab al-Mudarres told AKnews that the practice of taking electricity directly from local power lines is widespread across Iraqi, and the […]
Korean Investment in Mosul Infrastructure
[Update: The National Investment Commission (NIC) has issued a statement on 22nd March 2011 on behalf of the Chairman of the Nineveh Investment Commission, denying these reports of contracts signed with South Korean companies.] The Chairman of the Nineveh Investment Commission said on Wednesday that it has signed investment contracts with 20 South Korean companies […]
Mobile Phone Wars in Iraq
Iraqi mobile operator AsiaCell has threatened to sue Kuwait-based telecoms provider Zain, after it allegedly distributed millions of unlicensed SIM cards, hitting AsiaCell's market share. It has also disconnected several million Zain Iraq subscribers whose lines have not been fully licensed by the Communications and Media Commission (CMC). AsiaCell, in which Qatar Telecommunications Co (Qtel) […]
WesternZagros Closes Private Share Placing
WesternZagros Resources has announced that it has closed its previously announced private placement offering (the "Offering") of common shares of the Company (the "Shares"). The Company sold, through a syndicate of agents, 89,665,352 Shares at a price of Cdn$0.48 per share for gross proceeds of Cdn$43 million. The Shares issued under the Offering are subject […]
Anxiety Across the Region, But Hope Too
By Chris Bowers, British Consul General in Erbil. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published with permission by Iraq Business News. It has been a momentous few weeks in the Middle East as hopes and aspirations that had lain dormant for a generation or more have stirred. British Prime Minister Cameron visited […]
KRG Opens New Representative Office in Paris
In an official ceremony, the Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa Bakir and the Chief of Staff to the President of the Kurdistan Region Fuad Hussein opened the new representative office of the KRG in France. During his speech, Mr Bakir noted the importance of this step in […]