Demand for the dollar drops in daily auction

Demand for the dollar was down in the Central Bank of Iraq's (CBI) auction on Wednesday, registering at $123.550 million compared to $151.920 million on Tuesday.

"The demand hit $47.875 million in cash and $75.765 million in foreign transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,189 Iraqi dinars per dollar, same as yesterday," according to the central bank's daily bulletin, which was received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

None of the 17 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars, it noted.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

(Voices of Iraq)

2 Basra streets to be tiled within provincial projects

The construction department in Basra has initiated a project to tile two streets in the province at a cost of nearly $340,000 as part of the 2008 provincial development projects.

"On Wednesday, the department has launched a project to tile the streets of al-Amanat and al-Shuhadaa in Shatt al-Arab district, eastern Basra," Engineer Ammar Sabah told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

Work includes the removal of the outer layer and an examination of soil samples, after which the two streets will be flattened and tiled, the engineer explained, noting that the estimated completion period of the project is three months.

The project will reduce traffic congestions and ease the flow of vehicles in the streets, he added.

The Shiite province of Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an estimated metropolitan population of 2,300,000 in 2008. Basra is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history. The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city's oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd). Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname "The Venice of the Middle East" at least at high tide.
(Voices of Iraq)

Najaf's agricultural dept. sets up fish farms

The agricultural department in the holy Shiite city of Najaf has initiated a project to establish 650,000 fish farms to bread and rear carp and silverfish.

The project aims at enhancing fish production in Najaf province, according to a statement released by the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture's media office and received by Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

The farms have been set up in Ibn Najm Marsh, al-Hamam area, and al-Ghazali river in al-Huriya district, the statement explained.

Ibn Najm (40 km north of Najaf city) is one of the largest marshes in the country, which was drained by the former Iraqi regime. The ministry currently plans to revive the marsh and increase its fish production.

Najaf, 160 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq.

Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Taleb (also known as "Imam Ali"), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam.

The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims.

(Voices of Iraq)

Thi-Qar, U.S. sign deal to build airport

The provincial council of Thi-Qar signed an initial agreement with the U.S. side to build a civilian airport in the city, according to the council chief.

"Part of the airfield in Imam Ali base, used by the Multi-National Force (MNF) troops as their headquarters, will be cut to build the airport," Ihsan al-Tai'e told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The U.S. side was represented by the economic and transport counselor in the U.S. embassy while the Thi-Qar provincial council was represented by its chief and the head of the investment authority," Tai'e said.
The former Imam Ali airbase, currently occupied by the MNF, was established in the early 1980s to provide logistics for warplanes during the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war. The base was offering fuel, repair services and supply for the military aircraft.

Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar's capital is the city of al-Nassiriya.

It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq.
(Voices of Iraq)

Iraq grants licenses for luxury hotel, glitz mall in Baghdad

Iraqi investment commission on Tuesday announced it licensed two commercial projects, marking the start of the long-awaited boom after years of sanctions and violence.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials are on a drive to promote investment with violence in Iraq at a four-year low. Direct foreign investment in Iraq was a mere $272 million in 2006, according to UN statistics.

"The investment commission granted two investment licenses: the first was for an Iraqi investor planning to build a five-star hotel in al-Utifiya district, while the second was for an Iraqi company planning to build commercial complex (Mall) containing 82 units in Baghdad's eastern side, Rusafa," said Iraq's investment agency's statement received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

"The first project in Utaifiya aimed at promoting religious tourism and to provide facilities for pilgrims to religious sites," the announcement noted.

Utaifiya is a western Baghdad's district and known for its Buratha mosque. Shiites believe the mosque was built on the location where their revered Imam Ali stopped while fighting enemies in Baghdad. Utaifiya is a neighbor to Kadhimiya district, where a golden–domed shrines of Imam Musa Bin Jaafar al-Kadhim and his grandson Moahmed al-Jawad, the seventh and the ninth Imam for Shiites, lies. The shrine is annually visited by a high number of Shiite pilgrims.

Earlier, Iraq laid the foundation stone for a luxury hotel in Baghdad. That was the first project to receive a license from Iraq's new investment commission.

(Voices of Iraq)

Cabinet allocates $100 million to rebuild Diala

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Rafeaa al-Eissawi said on Tuesday that the cabinet allocated $100 million to reconstruct Diala and its villages.

"The cabinet decided during its session today to allocate $100 million to rebuild cities and villages in Diala province," said a statement released from al-Eissawi's office received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

"The decision came within certain procedures taken to boost the security operation in Diala," he added.
Iraq's security forces had launched a wide-scale security campaign in Diala province last week. The operation, codenamed Bashaer al-Kheir (Promise of Good), is aimed at tracking down members of al-Qaeda network in Diala, Iraq's most restive city, after the armed group lost its strongholds in the western Iraq predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar, where tribesmen fought its members and flushed them out of the city.

Diala province extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi).

A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris.

Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala's main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East.

(Voices of Iraq)

Demand for dollar drops on Tuesday

Demand for the dollar was down in the Iraqi Central Bank's auction on Tuesday, reaching $151.920 million compared to $218.355 million on Monday.

"The demand hit $46.320 million in cash and $105.600 million in foreign transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,189 Iraqi dinars per dollar, one tick lower than yesterday," according to the central bank's daily bulletin, which was received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

None the 17 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

(Voices of Iraq)

Italy allocates €7m. for Iraqi refugees

The Italian embassy in Iraq on Tuesday said seven million Euro were allocated to support the Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries.

"The Italian embassy in Iraq devoted the sum of 7.1 million Euro for supporting the Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries. Italy had earmarked the sum of 3.65 million Euro during 2007 and 2008," according to a release by the embassy on Tuesday as received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, a large number of them Christians, have emigrated to Sweden and other Western and Arab countries since the 1990s. The number of emigrants jumped, according to international organizations, to more than 3 million after the Iraqi regime was toppled in 2003 and the following sectarian violence.

(Voices of Iraq)

Industry Ministry inks deal with British company

Iraq's Industry & Minerals Ministry has inked a memo of understanding with a British company to develop the country's weaving plants in order to cater for the needs of the Iraqi defense and interior ministries, a media spokeswoman said.

"The MoU, signed during Industry Minister Fawzy Hariri's visit to Britain last week with a high-level ministry delegation, provides for the British company's undertaking development of the Iraqi weaving factories and devise new production lines by use of advanced British technologies," Hanan Jassem told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The Iraqi delegation also discussed with a number of British companies chances of cooperation and industrial investment in light of Iraq's reconstruction efforts and openness to European Union (EU) states," she added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had embarked on a multi-leg European tour that took him to Germany, Italy and the Vatican. The Iraqi premier called on the EU countries to cooperate with Iraq in all fields.

(Voices of Iraq)

$300 million loan to revamp Iraqi agricultural industries

International donors have agreed to lend Iraq $300 million on condition that the money is spent on developing the country’s agricultural industries, Baghdad Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

The chamber said the donors have entrusted United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) whose experts will oversee the rehabilitation of the sector.

The interest-free loan has a 20-year service period and is expected to modernize the country’s agricultural industry.

Iraq used to have one of the world’s most developed date processing industries but the factories involved in date processing have aged and some of them are idle.

Iraq still has the largest number of date palm trees in the world but experts say date yields have receded and the country no longer tops the list of world producers.

The statement said new machinery is to be purchased and there will be new factories in some provinces.

Other agriculture-based industries to benefit from the loan include leather, dairy and vegetable ghee.

The statement said the loan is expected to revitalize the agricultural sector and even lead to a surplus in processed food.
(Azzaman)