Construction, plans and project news

[BigDreamer]

75000 units over 10 years is actually a small number.. esp if you take population growth into account

[ardamir]

Found some info on reconstruction projects funded by foreign assistance from April 2010 (The good stuff starts on page 68).

http://www.sigir.mil/files/quarterly...0.pdf#view=fit

[elusive]

Originally Posted by BigDreamer

75000 units over 10 years is actually a small number.. esp if you take population growth into account

yeh but u have to consider that Sadr City is really dense. I assume they're only building high rises to accommodate the insane number of people living there...

[elusive]

UAE firm implements ID39b project in Karbala

June 5, 2010 - 03:04:10
KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A firm from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will carry out a project to build an entrance of al-Hindiya city, eastern Karbala, at a total cost of 39 billion Iraqi dinars, according to a local official on Saturday.
“The project in al-Hindiya, (20 km) eastern Karbala, will be approved after officials endorse the designs made,” Rassoul al-Talaqani, the assistant governor of Karbala for technical affairs, told Aswat l-Iraq news agency.
“The project, one of the largest strategic ones witnessed by the roads sector, falls within the framework of the 2010 Provincial Development Budget (PDB) investment plan,” Talaqani added.
He noted that the project envisages four roads at a total length of 6500 meters and width of 100 meters in addition to a checkpoint, green spaces and a bridge.
The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

[elusive]

9 new investment projects in Najaf

June 9, 2010 - 06:13:42
NAJAF / Aswat al-Iraq: The Najaf Investment Commission has approved nine new investment projects at a total cost of $38 million (more than 45 billion dinars), raising the number of investment projects in the province to 65, head of the commission said on Wednesday.
“The NIC gave nine new investment licenses in the health, entertainment, commercial and educational fields at a cost of $38.211.138 million,” Fadl al-Fadl told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“The new licenses raised the total number of approved licenses in Najaf to 65 at a total cost of $2.5 billion,” he noted.
“The investment companies have already started implementing 16 projects, including the establishment of a pharmaceutical factory,” the official underlined.
Najaf lies 160 km south of Baghdad.

[elusive]

Amusement park after Disney Land in Baghdad

June 21, 2010 - 08:48:11
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The corner stone will be laid during the coming few days to start the project of a major amusement park in eastern Baghdad, which will follow the style of Disney Land.
“The project’s estimated cost is at ID25 billion,” the Baghdad Mayoralty said in a release on Monday as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
It noted that the project will be executed within two years through investments.
MH (P)/SR

haha...

[dude01]

NAJAF, Iraq — The Iraqi shrine city of Najaf, whose mediaeval-style alleyways host millions of Shiite pilgrims every year, has signed a deal for a monorail to rival that of ultra-modern Dubai, a provincial official said on Sunday.
The city, which is home to the grand ayatollahs who wield huge influence among Iraq's Shiite majority community, will be the first in the country to get a rapid transit system, with proposals for a Baghdad metro still very much on the drawing board.
The monorail will ferry pilgrims between Najaf's most revered shrines, the Mausoleum of Imam Ali in the city centre and the Grand and Al-Sahla Mosques in Kufa, 10 kilometres (six miles) to the west, provincial investment committee member Anwar al-Habubi told AFP.
The system, which is due for completion within three years, will also provide links to the city's two main bus stations, he added.
In a later phase of the project, the provincial council plans to connect the network to the city's international airport, opened two years ago to serve the tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims who travel from Iran, Lebanon, south Asia and elsewhere.
The monorail will run at an elevation of six metres (20 feet) above the city's streets, Habubi said. The network, much of which will be twin-track, will have a combined length of 37 kilometres (23 miles).
Canada-based international engineering consortium TransGlobim International Inc is to build the 248-million-dollar system, which is scheduled for completion within three years, Habubi added.
"Construction will start right away as the project already has its investment licence," he said.
Globim said on its website that the project entailed financing and operating the network over a 30-year concession period as well as the survey, design and construction work.
"Guideway design will accommodate blast protection," the firm said on its website referring to the concrete track and supports which carry the monorail.
Protection against bomb blasts is an important consideration in a city where Shiite pilgrims have come under repeated attack by Sunni extremists, including militants from Al-Qaeda.
"All guideway components will be pre-cast and assembled on site," the company added.
It said construction would take two years after completion of the survey and design work.
Service frequency on the network will vary in accordance with the rhythm of the pilgrimage traffic. In total, Najaf welcomes around 70 million faithful to its holy places every year but the numbers fluctuate widely from day to day.
"Currently, Najaf hosts more than 5,000 visitors per day Saturday to Wednesday peaking to 20,000 visitors per day on the weekend -- Thursday/Friday," the company said.
"On 20 major nights of the year, the city is host to over one million people per day.
"Initially (there will be) five to six minute headway between trains, moving to two to three minutes in heavy usage periods," the company said.
"Train capacity will be 400 to 420 people per train travelling 35 to 80 kilometres per hour (22 to 50 miles per hour) depending on station distance."
Habubi hailed the signing of the monorail deal.
"It is a big asset for Najaf -- it will provide an important service for pilgrims and ease the massive congestion problems," he said.
Currently the only other monorail system in the Middle East is in Dubai. The line, which opened last year, links the mainland to the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah -- a residential and leisure mega-project off the coast in the Gulf

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...xUmDCfQbK_1eVQ

[MKTJ]

العراق يطرح تشييد 4 مصاف للنفط بكلفة 25 مليار دولار

http://www.alaswaq.net/articles/2010/06/26/35470.html

[BigDreamer]

is the Najaf monorail U/C ? in an interview they said that it was !

[sheytanElKebir]

the najaf nigerian scam!!! LOL

these guys are so dumb! the entire najaf investment board should be lined up and shot for their utter utter stupidity.

unfortunately such stupidity is just the norm when it comes to iraqi government officials and bureaucrats... they are so detached from the world, its not even funny.

[MKTJ]

I thought it's a Canadian firm!

[BigDreamer]

yea lol..

[MKTJ]

Iraq finds the solution to attract investors
Iraq to build a commercial village for investors


BAGHDAD (Reuters)

Iraq has the solution for businessmen who want to invest but fear venturing into Baghdad's dangerous streets by creating a mini-city right next to the airport.

To persuade more investors to come to Iraq, an Iraqi firm is planning to build a "village of businesses" next to Baghdad airport, a 30-minute drive from the city centre, according to Shaker al-Zamili, head of the Baghdad Investment Commission.

The mini-city will offer all amenities for businessmen to strike deals, showcase their products and be entertained, offering a complete infrastructure that includes offices, hotels, apartments, banks, shops, a petrol station, a car rental agency and even duty-free shops. And there will be restaurants, internet cafes and parks.


The village will take 3-5 years to be completed

The area, scheduled for completion in 3-5 years for $250 million, will also house offices of state investment commissions and branches of most government ministries to help investors.

"When a company comes to Iraq, instead of wandering, it could stay and deal with officials and get any information, any details it wants while staying there," Zamili said on Wednesday.

Companies also could rent places for displaying products and services, he added.

Iranian, Turkish and Gulf companies lead foreign investment in Iraq, and their investment is mostly pronounced in religious tourism, housing and banking sectors.

The United Arab Emirates is the biggest investor in large projects, with total pledges of $37.7 billion, while Lebanon tops the list of investment deals below $1 billion, according to a report last year by Dunia Frontier Consultants.

Iraq has been struggling to attract much-needed investment to develop its infrastructure after years of militant bloodshed, under-investment and sanctions as many firms wait for security to improve.

Overall violence has dropped significantly in Iraq since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07. But bombings and shootings still occur regularly in Baghdad and elsewhere.

While Iraq has signed eleven deals with global oil companies to develop its richest fields, projects outside the energy sector have rarely gone beyond aspirations. Lingering violence and political uncertainty, four months after an inconclusive election, are keeping most western investors on the sidelines.

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/20...28/115087.html

[elusive]

Shatt al-Arab canal project underway – ministry

August 10, 2010 - 08:59:38
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Preparations have begun to execute the concrete layered transportation canal of the Shatt al-Arab Irrigation Project.
“The total cost of the project will be around $299 million,” the Iraqi Water Resources Ministry said in a release on Tuesday as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
It noted that the canal’s length will be 128 km, and will have a discharge capacity of 30 cubic meters per second.
“The canal will start from northern Basra until the south of the province,” the ministry added.
MH (P)/SR

[BigDreamer]

I didn't get what that means? are they extending it? cleaning it? or upgrading it?

[elusive]

Originally Posted by BigDreamer

I didn't get what that means? are they extending it? cleaning it? or upgrading it?

upgrading it i think, that means cleaning it too

[elusive]

Iraq spending 300 million dollars on hotels for summit: FM

(AFP) – 3 days ago
BAGHDAD — Iraq will spend 300 million dollars to upgrade six major hotels in Baghdad for an Arab summit next year, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP on Tuesday.
"We will invest around 300 million dollars to transform our six largest hotels to international standards for the Arab summit at the end of March" 2011, Zebari said.
The hotels include the Rasheed, the centre of political life during the era of Saddam Hussein, who was ousted by the 2003 US-led invasion and later tried and executed.
It now lies within the heavily-fortified international "Green Zone" in Baghdad.
Also being renovated are the Mansour, the Palestine, the Ishtar (formerly Sheraton), the Baghdad, and the Babil, all of which have been targeted by car bombs or other violence since the invasion.
The government will pay 25 percent of the refurbishment costs and provide interest free loans for the rest, an official from one of the hotels said on condition of anonymity.
Around 1,000 rooms will be refitted by Turkish, Jordanian and local companies, Zebari said.
Iraq has not held a regular Arab summit since November 1978, although it did host an extraordinary session in Baghdad in May 1990.[/IMG]

image hosted on flickr

[elusive]

Sports Ministry examines offers to build Baghdad Int’l Stadium

August 21, 2010 - 10:54:31
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi Youth and Sports Ministry is examining offers submitted by different firms to build the Baghdad International Stadium in northern the Iraqi capital.
“Eleven firms are currently competing to win the design and execution of this project,” the Iraqi Youth and Sports Minister Jassim Mohammed Jaafar told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He noted that the project will require three years for execution.
“The stadium will be the biggest in Iraq, with a capacity of 100 thousand sport fans,” Minister Jaafar said.
MH (P)/SR

[elusive]

Nahrwan bridge opens
September 5, 2010 - 04:46:02
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Baghdad Mayoralty announced the inauguration of the al-Nahrwan bridge, which links Baghdad to northern and southern Iraqi provinces and helps traffic of trucks to the northern areas of the country without having to pass by the capital, according to the Baghdad Mayoralty in a statement on Sunday.
“The project, a vital one for the movement of passengers and cargo, is an important link between the province of Diala and the northern and southern provinces as well as Baghdad,” Baghdad Mayor Salah Abdulraziq was quoted in the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“The 14-km-long infrastructure project was implemented by Iraqis with French participation at a cost of 16 billion Iraqi dinars,” he added.
AmR (P)

[elusive]

Kuwaiti delegation in Basra to discuss investments

September 6, 2010 - 02:46:22
BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: Representatives of Kuwaiti firms discussed with the Basra governor on Monday investment opportunities in the southern Iraqi province.
“The two sides discussed how to seriously activate Kuwaiti investments in Basra,” said a release issued by the Basra local authorities.
It explained that Kuwaiti firms have the intention to invest in Basra, especially in agricultural projects.
The oil-rich city of Basra lies 590 km south of Baghdad.
MH (P)/SR