The latest news from Baghdad – security updates, business, construction projects and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By John Lee. Volvo Trucks has inaugurated joint service centres in the Iraq cities of Baghdad and Basra, reports Construction Week Online. The service centres, built in collaboration with local country distributor ZamZam Spring, will service trucks made by Volvo and Mack, part of the Volvo group. Stefan Soenchen, Iraq country manager of Volvo Trucks, […]
By John Lee. AMBS Architects has shown its designs for the first public library to be built in Iraq since the 1970s. The 45,000 m2 building will be located on a teardrop-shaped peninsula at the heart of the Youth City masterplan dedicated to supporting and inspiring young Iraqis. According to a report from Dezeen, the […]
Dubai-based DAMAC Properties has announced a comprehensive strategic plan to expand its operations to Iraq. The company has begun work on Princess Tower – a 26-storey, luxury furnished apartment complex in the heart of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The US$ 100 million project is the first stage of a long-term commitment to the country, said […]
By John Lee. Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, famous for housing foreign journalists during the US-led invasion of Iraq, has since undergone a makeover. Hotel manager Fadhel Salman Hassan told AFP: "We are a five-star establishment ... We have 405 rooms, three bars [and] by order of the minister of electricity, the power never cuts." The hotel […]
By John Lee. A team from Iraq's Commission on Integrity (CoI) has arrested an official of the Sunni Endowment for taking bribes to from investors in return for the use of a property owned by the Endowment. The official is accused of taking a bribe of $250,000 in return for the use of the Sara […]
Cristal Group, a premier luxury hospitality company in the Middle East, announced the opening of the landmark Ishtar Hotel on Monday, now renamed the Cristal Grand Ishtar Hotel. One of the tallest buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, the 20-storey property features 307 rooms and suites, comprising of 92 Standard king rooms, 111 Standard twin rooms, 62 […]
By John Lee. Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy affairs, Hussein al-Shahristani, has opened a new gas-powered electricity plant in southern Baghdad. The plant has four 125-megawatt generators and cost $219 million to build, he said. Iraq Business News understands that the plant was constructed by the Korean company Hyundai. (Source: Al-Shorfa)
By John Lee. Iraq’s Free Zone Authority (FZA), an independent authority under the Ministry of Finance, has signed an agreement with the City Centre for Vehicles Services Company to approve a new free zone in Baghdad. The Director General of the Authority, Sabah Salih al-Qaisi (pictured), said the new free zone would be in the Awiridj […]
By John Lee. Mawtani reports that the Iraqi government has approved the construction of a private free-trade zone south of Baghdad. Sabah al-Qaisi (pictured), the chairman of the Ministry of Finance's General Commission for Free Zones, told Mawtani: "[The Ministry of Finance's General Commission for Free Zones] approved two requests submitted by a group of local […]
By John Lee. Iraq has completed a new $146-million project to supply drinking water to much of Baghdad's population. Saleh al-Mutlaq (pictured), deputy prime minister for service affairs, told Al-Shorfa: "The ministry of municipalities opened the Abu Ghraib Great Water Project ... It will provide drinking water to houses through modern networks, and will cover […]
By John Lee. Baghdad Provincial Council and the National Investment Commission (NIC) plan to build four new housing complexes in Baghdad by 2013. Intended for people on low income, the houses will be built in the districts of Rashid, Dihna, Basmaya and Mahmudiya. Bushra Abdul Amir, Deputy Chairman of the Administrative Committee at Baghdad PC, […]
By John Lee. As part of a review of the United Kingdom's diplomatic engagement with Iraq, which included the announcement today that the country's consulate in Basra is to close, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague (pictured), has announced increased resources for the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate […]
