Lebanese firms willing to start tourist projects in Iraq

Shiites from all over the world are keen to visit Najaf and if security returns to Iraq the city is expected to see a boom in tourist industry.

There is a sizeable Shiite community in Lebanon but the community’s members have so far avoided the city for security reasons.

Khazaali made the remarks following what he said was “a successful visit” a provincial delegation made to Lebanon recently.

He said Lebanese tourist entrepreneurs affirmed that they would rush to invest in the cities of Najaf and Karbala, another holy Shiite city in Iraq once stability returns to the country.

“They (the entrepreneurs) have agreed to set up an institute of tourism and hotel management in the city,” he said.

Khazaali said Najaf airport was almost ready and should be able to accommodate scheduled flights once it is inaugurated.

He said the delegation has already signed a deal for the construction of three hotels and another deal for the building of three factories.

The news of the Lebanese offer to invest in Najaf comes amid escalating sectarian tensions which have so far claimed at least 160 lives, raising fears of a civil.(Source)Saadoun al-Jaberi, Azzaman

Ministry’s move to protect domestic industry

Currently there are no restrictions on imports and Iraqi industrialists complain that they cannot compete with cheap goods particularly those coming from China.

He said his ministry had prepared a draft law “and it will be presented to the cabinet for approval.”

He said goods were “sort of being dumped on the Iraqi market” at prices that are sometimes below those prevalent in countries producing them.

“This is an attempt to ruin the Iraqi economy and Iraqi companies,” he was quoted as saying.

Najafi said it was essential that the domestic industry had the necessary incentives to compete with foreign imports.

“We cannot grant the keys of our economy to others,” he added.

He said the country could not go on relying 100% on oil exports as currently the industry’s contribution to the national economy was almost nothing.

Najafi said one major way to lower unemployment rates was by reviving the national industry.

The ministry has embarked on a comprehensive plan of privatization and has started with cement factories.

The minister said two major cement factories were now in private hands and they have already seen a boost in production.

Najafi said he was “optimistic” about the future of the country’s industry and that “big leaps have been made” since 2003.

He said the pharmaceutical sector was making headway with sales hitting 60 billion dinars last year.

He said “big progress” was made by the state-run fertilizer companies and that the ministry’s engineering firms are currently constructing small-scale refineries in major Iraqi cities. (Source) Muthana Aidan, Azzaman

HomeNews & UpdatesTop FAQ’sAbout UsContact UsHistory of Iraqi DinarBuy Dinar OnlineWhy invest in Dinar Letter from a disgruntled Iraqi man to U.S. Pre

In the nearly three years since ‘the liberation’, you and your troops have been leading us along the path of ‘democracy and freedom’ and have managed to bring security and stability to our land after decades of oppression.

And because I am so happy with what you have done for us I dreamed of you the other night. Your face beamed, and you kept smiling and you hand an olive branch in your right hand.

You were surrounded by angels in the form of birds and looked as an upright, pious man with a Godly mission.

You said all your actions were driven by heavenly advice including your invasion of our country.

For this reason we thank God for all the suffering, grievances and calamities that have befallen us because of you since that, in you mind, is the wish of God.

Dear Mr. President,

Your deeds in Iraq are bearing fruit and your efforts have not gone in vain. ‘The new Iraq’ is a product of your persistence and perseverance.

And because of you and your deeds, ‘democracy’ is now deeply rooted in Iraq.

Because of you we have gained nothing and lost almost everything – may God bless you for it?

We now enjoy the privileges of your humanitarian experiences and because of that our country has returned to the pre-industrial age which your father had predicted for us.

Our country now has no drinking water, no electricity and no fuel. But what do we need these luxuries for at a time we are relishing the taste of ‘the democracy’ you have given us.

You may want to know that we are in a tunnel without light whose end will be the disintegration of our country into shaky statelets that will be easy to devour by others.

Congratulations Mr. President.

Yours faithfully,

Sammak Burhan

12 new industrial projects in 2006 in Iraq for 25 billion Iraqi dinar

The statement said the total cost of these projects amounts to nearly 25 billion Iraqi dinars.

Last year the company designed 14 projects at a cost of more than 12 billion iraqi dinar.The company designs industrial projects and supervises construction and implementation.

Most of the projects are for key ministries like oil and electricity, the statement said.

It said the company expected to sign more contracts with the ministry of oil which has the largest investment budget for 2006.

The ministry’s $3 billion allocations will be used to upgrade refineries and boost oil output.

The statement said the company was engaged in the rehabilitation of the refinery in Qaiyra in the north.

In the electricity field, the company is currently installing equipment for a power plant that will feed al-Huriya district in Baghdad.(Source)Muthana Aydan, Azzaman

$200 million for telecommunications ministry in Iraq

“The ministry will work to develop the country’s telecommunications infrastructure,” she said. She said her first priority was to link the country’s 18 provinces together.

It is still not possible to call several provinces from Baghdad and telephone services between the Kurdish north and the rest of the country have yet to resume.

Mobile phones have mushroomed in Iraq since the fall of the former leader Saddam Hussein in 2003, who had banned their use.

Iraqis now mainly rely on their mobile phones for both local and international contacts.

Maasoum said her second priority was to make it easy for Iraqis to make international calls.

“This is a vital project for which the ministry has earmarked $11 million,” she said. Private Internet use, which was also banned under Saddam Hussein, has surged in the past three years.(Source)Hussein Hameed, Azzaman

HomeNews & UpdatesTop FAQ’sAbout UsContact UsHistory of Iraqi DinarBuy Dinar OnlineWhy invest in Dinar Iraq to boost refining capacity to 1 million ba

Iraq’s refining capacity has declined since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and the country, regarded as the world’s second larges in oil reserves, cannot now meet its energy needs.

The sources said most of the additional capacity will be achieved once the ministry implements a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate current refineries and built new ones in several provinces.

If fully operational, Iraqi refineries can churn out up to 750,000 barrels a day. But the sources said they were working at much below their capacity.

Power outages and attacks of sabotage particularly hitting the northern refining complex of Baiji, the largest in the country, are hampering production, the sources said.

Earlier, ministry sources had said that Iraq wanted to boost oil output from the current 1.75 million barrels a day to 2.250 million by the end of the year.

The oil industry is said to be suffering with conditions described as even worse than those prevalent when the country was under punitive U.N. trade sanctions.(Source)Ali Khalil, Azzaman

More belt-tightening in store for Iraqis

The outgoing government is reported to have agreed to these conditions, which among other things, require that Iraq to enter into long-term partnership deals with foreign firms to develop the country’s massive oil wealth.

Sources, refusing to be named, leaked information of the deal which the government has so far opted to keep under wraps.

Fuel prices will have to be raised to levels comparable to those in neighboring countries, according to the deal.

The expected upsurge in fuel prices will come on top of the hikes the government made recently and which led to demonstrations across the country.

The sources said millions of Iraqis dependent on food rations for a living need now to prepare themselves to do without government-subsidized food.

The deal will have to be ratified by the parliament but the outgoing government of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, though agreeing to it, has refused to send it to the legislators.

World Bank, International Monetary Fund and creditor countries have written off most of Iraqi debts.

But these institutions and countries, the sources said, would like Iraq to open up its oil fields to foreign investments.

Any further hikes in fuel rates are bound to backfire on the new government and are very likely to lead to large-scale rioting.

But the scrapping of food rations will have far graver consequences as millions of Iraqis will find it almost impossible to make ends meet without them.(Source)Nidhal al-Laithi, Azzaman

China ready to provide training in oil in Iraq and other fields aswell

The pledge to provide the training came following a meeting between Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zaibari and the Chinese envoy in Baghdad.

“The (Chinese) ambassador has expressed his government’s willingness to develop relations with Iraq … and provide the country with assistance in the training of Iraqi cadres,” the statement said.

It said initially China would provide training for 80 Iraqi oil personnel “and donate X-ray machines” to help the country control its borders and combat violence.

“China is keen to do whatever it takes to press ahead with the Iraqi reconstruction,” the statement quoted the envoy as saying.(Source)Haqi Ismael,Azzaman

Iraq needs $60 billion US Dollars to revive domestic industry

Otherwise, Iraqi industry will not be able to cope with the rest of the world, he said.

He said currently his ministry was receiving only 10% of the actual allocations it needs to modernize the industry.

Currently, the industry makes a modest contribution to GDP but exports are negligible.

But Abdulaziz said with the necessary investments domestic industry’s contribution should not less than 25%.

This will be a boost to the oil sector, currently the country’s sole foreign cash earner.The minister said his companies have signed several contracts with other ministries.

He said state fertilizer plants now meet domestic needs.“We have signed a $50 million contract for the construction of four refineries,” he said.

The ministry’s pharmaceutical companies meet 50% of the country needs, he said.(Source)Ali Kareem,Azzaman

India to carry out housing projects in Iraq Najaf – governor

Najaf and Karbala are cities holy to Muslim Shiites around the world.

“Najaf suffers from an acute housing crisis,” the governor said.

He said housing was in such shortage that residents were camping or squatting illegally on private or state-owned land.

The governor did not say whether he had signed any contracts during his visit or whether the Indian firms would come to Iraq despite insecurity.

However, Najaf has a special status in the government and is given preferential treatment in budget allocations.

Kallal said the low-priced houses to be built by the Indian firms will be given to low-income families who do not own a house.(Source)Saadoun al-Jaberi,Azzaman

Iraq and Iran sign industry cooperation deal

He said the agreements cover “industrial fields of ceramics, detergents, cooking oil, dairy products and vehicles.”

He said under a deal with Iran Khodro, Iraq’s biggest automobile manufacturing company, the Iranians have agreed to start a truck division in the country.

Iraq will import more vehicles from Iran Khodro, including ambulances, he said.

Iran Khodro is reputed for its Samand brand of which $200 million are exported every year.

Aziz said the ministry and Iran’s enterprises, whether private or state- owned, will each have 50% ownership of the divisions to be constructed in the country.

Iran is the only country which has agreed to start cooperating with Iraq despite mounting insecurity and violence.

Aziz said his ministry presented similar joint projects to countries like Jordan, Malaysia, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates but these countries said they would start cooperating in earnest when security improves.

(Source)Azzaman

Iraq to add 500,000 barrels to daily oil output in 2006

The source said the target was within reach “due to massive financial allocations” the government has made to the ministry.

He said the ministry will have access to $3 billion this year and that nearly 70% of the money will be spent on upgrading the industry’s upstream and downstream activities.

International media had quoted the ministry as saying that production had already reached 2.2 million barrels a day and that 1.5 million of it was earmarked for exports.

But the source said there was no way for Iraq to export 1.5 million barrels a day as maximum the southern terminals currently can handle was 1.1 million barrels daily.

He said exports from the northern fields to terminals in Turkey were negligible and would not resume on a regular basis without marked improvement in security conditions.

“If we can hike production to 2.25 million barrels a day by the end of 2006 that will be an achievement in itself,” the source said.

He said the ministry was confident of adding half a million barrels to the current daily output of 1.75 million “because we are certain this time that we are going to get all the money allocated for us.”

Previous years, he said, the ministry was not given the money needed to make the necessary investments.(Source) Ali Khaleel, Azzaman

One bilion Iraqi dinar for Baghdad University

An official source at the university said to as-Sabah that the technical and engineering cadres in the university have contributed to develop and rehabilitate as-Salam, al-Aqaida, al-Wahda, veterinary college for hostels with cost of Iraqi dinar 400 millions.

He added that a compound for class halls will be established at College of Arts and College of Languages at Bab al-Mu’adhum with cost of Iraqi dinar 400 millions.(Source) Al Sabaah

Foreign firms find oil in Iraq's border town

Zaibari, speaking in a local television interview, did not name the foreign firms but said they were exploring for oil in northern Iraq under an agreement with the central government.

"The preliminary explorations have shown very good results," he said.

Zakho is a town in the Kurdish north bordering Turkey.

Zaibari did not give the names of the foreign firms involved in the exploration.

But said: "The explorations in Zakho provide conclusive evidence that Iraqi crude reserves are is immense indeed."

Proven Iraqi reserves are estimated at 14 billion barrels, the world’s second largest after those of Saudi Arabia.

Zibari is in charge of fuel distribution in the three Kurdish provinces of Dahouk, Sulaimaniya and Arbil as welll as Taameem (kirkuk) and Nineveh (Mosul).

He claimed that the five provinces currently suffer from no fuel shortages.

He said his company’s policy of rationing the distribution particularly of gasoline has slashed what he called “waste” in the three Kurdish provinces by 40%.

Despite its massive oil wealth, Iraq currently imports fuel from Turkey and Zaibari said fuel bills due to Turkey, and still unpaid by the government, were worth up to $1 billion.(Source) Azzaman

Stolen masterpiece from Iraq exhibited for sale in New York city

The source informed the newspaper that the president of State Commission of the International Antiquities Dony George has confirmed that the masterpiece is exhibited for selling in Fortuna Fine Arts located at 984 Madison St. in New York City, referring that an archeologist specialized in ancient Iraqi minerals stated that the source of such kind of axes are from Iraqi archeological sites, particularly, from Selima and Hassan hills, indicating that forged marks have been put on these axes such as “Loastan ,Amlash and others marks. (Source) Al Sabaah

Oil refinery deal between Poland and Iraq

The ministry showed the Iraqi desire to develop the mutual relations between the two countries in all fields.The Polish ambassador on Iraq handed an invitation from the deputy of Polish minister of foreign affairs to his counterpart to visit Poland to discuses the methods of developing cooperation between the two countries and making deals in the mentioned fields.(Source) Al Sabaah