There is a lot going on in Iraq at the moment – too much, quite frankly for most who simply want to make a living with mechanics or in construction to be concerned with.
With Iraq’s government in even greater upheaval than normal amid the legal wrangles of the election, it would have taken a lot for construction and development in the capital to retain the headlines.
However, three major announcements which many PMV professionals might have missed may well bring the area back into a country in which business can be done. Firstly, the General Secretariat approved the referral of the Al Raheed residential complex last week to an unnamed UAE company at a cost of more than US $20 billion (AED 73.4 billion) – heralding one of the largest investment projects in its history.
The decision was reached following protracted meetings of the Council of Ministers, according to Ali Al Alaak, UN Secretary-General of the Cabinet, with the Emirates company the pick of three shortlisted. The infrastructure project is to be presented to the next cabinet, he added, with the final signings expected within the next few weeks after modifications and resubmission by the Investment Authority.
This came soon after an announcement by the Investment Commission that it had awarded eight investment permits to projects in the capital. In a statement to Aswat Al-Iraq news agency, the Commission said it had prioritised housing, of which it aims to build over 1 million in the next three years in the country as a whole, a total investment of $50 billion (AED183.4 billion.
Meanwhile, investment is slowly trickling back into Iraq. Trucks are being assembled from kit form at a factory, re-opened after a very long hiatus. Elsewhere, engine suppliers are doing a good trade as gensets have become the country’s de-facto power grid.
Among the eight permits is a $238 million (AED 874 million) housing project that includes 1,824 units at the Muthanna Airport. It continues the momentum spurred by the laying of a cornerstone in the Thi Qar capital Nassiriya, 380km south of Baghdad in mid-March.
The announcements tempered concerns following the views of Baghdad governor Salah Abdul two weeks ago that construction funding might be stunted if the country did not efficiently handle its financial budget.
In between these two events the electricity and transport ministries announced in the last month a joint railway project to deliver fuel to the Dora Power Station in southern Baghdad, though full details are pending.
The last few weeks also saw upheavals for US contractors.
Following the establishment of the general Status of Forces Agreement in January between the US and Iraq – which attempted to implement a legal backbone to the accountability of the US military’s occupation – the Ministry of Interior has aimed to simplify the process of US contractors to enter and exit the country and make their presence a statutory requirement.
The new scheme involves an approval memo, an entry-exit spreadsheet of travellers to airports in Baghdad, Erbil and Basrah as well as, for the US Embassy, a copy of the government contract and that contractors gain a Certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Trade.
Iraq will ‘keep companies busy’
The CEO and founder of a Baghdad-based infrastructure services firm said that the one million homes planned by the government will ‘keep a lot of companies busy’ for the next few years, despite the ongoing political uncertainty surrounding the election.
Ragdan El-Akabi says this year will vindicate FIAFI Group’s recent development into construction with a number of new opportunities in Iraq – including people who make a living from construction machinery.
The ballot crisis “will affect matters for a couple of months until the new government is formed. However, there are positive messages coming out of the political parties – which are encouraging.”
For a company comprised of 97% Iraqi nationals it is a patriotic push to serve both state-sponsored schemes – which has also recently announced a joint rail project by the electricity and transport ministries to deliver fuel to the Dora power station in the capital – as well as the next phase of the oil companies’ development.
These firms ‘will need the support of local Iraqi companies like FIAFI Group to help establish their camps’ in remote locations.
The international hunger and haste to capture the opportunities in Iraq has kept the company on its toes – though also allows it to demonstrate one of its logistical strengths with importing mandates.
“The international clients are always pressed for time,” El Akabi says. Things have to be done yesterday. Logistics plays a big part for the international companies and specialised equipment needs to be imported into the country. This is where our logistics arm plays a pivotal role in getting the equipment to the right locations on time – and intact.”
His belief that ‘security always comes top of the list’ will chime with a number of materials suppliers in the UAE still hedging their bets on the country.
Dinesh Nainani, general manager of Shaker Trading, a mid-sized supplier of steel products such as pipes sheets and tubes, said that although his firm has seen more business coming from Iraqi companies in the last year-and-a-half, the security situation means that the company does not plan to operate directly in the country.
City Profile: Baghdad
Housing and a link-up of ministries typify the current ambitions
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There is a lot going on in Iraq at the moment – too much, quite frankly for most who simply want to make a living with mechanics or in construction to be concerned with.
With Iraq’s government in even greater upheaval than normal amid the legal wrangles of the election, it would have taken a lot for construction and development in the capital to retain the headlines.
However, three major announcements which many PMV professionals might have missed may well bring the area back into a country in which business can be done. Firstly, the General Secretariat approved the referral of the Al Raheed residential complex last week to an unnamed UAE company at a cost of more than US $20 billion (AED 73.4 billion) – heralding one of the largest investment projects in its history.
The decision was reached following protracted meetings of the Council of Ministers, according to Ali Al Alaak, UN Secretary-General of the Cabinet, with the Emirates company the pick of three shortlisted. The infrastructure project is to be presented to the next cabinet, he added, with the final signings expected within the next few weeks after modifications and resubmission by the Investment Authority.
This came soon after an announcement by the Investment Commission that it had awarded eight investment permits to projects in the capital. In a statement to Aswat Al-Iraq news agency, the Commission said it had prioritised housing, of which it aims to build over 1 million in the next three years in the country as a whole, a total investment of $50 billion (AED183.4 billion.
Meanwhile, investment is slowly trickling back into Iraq. Trucks are being assembled from kit form at a factory, re-opened after a very long hiatus. Elsewhere, engine suppliers are doing a good trade as gensets have become the country’s de-facto power grid.
Among the eight permits is a $238 million (AED 874 million) housing project that includes 1,824 units at the Muthanna Airport. It continues the momentum spurred by the laying of a cornerstone in the Thi Qar capital Nassiriya, 380km south of Baghdad in mid-March.
The announcements tempered concerns following the views of Baghdad governor Salah Abdul two weeks ago that construction funding might be stunted if the country did not efficiently handle its financial budget.
In between these two events the electricity and transport ministries announced in the last month a joint railway project to deliver fuel to the Dora Power Station in southern Baghdad, though full details are pending.
The last few weeks also saw upheavals for US contractors.
Following the establishment of the general Status of Forces Agreement in January between the US and Iraq – which attempted to implement a legal backbone to the accountability of the US military’s occupation – the Ministry of Interior has aimed to simplify the process of US contractors to enter and exit the country and make their presence a statutory requirement.
The new scheme involves an approval memo, an entry-exit spreadsheet of travellers to airports in Baghdad, Erbil and Basrah as well as, for the US Embassy, a copy of the government contract and that contractors gain a Certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Trade.
Iraq will ‘keep companies busy’
The CEO and founder of a Baghdad-based infrastructure services firm said that the one million homes planned by the government will ‘keep a lot of companies busy’ for the next few years, despite the ongoing political uncertainty surrounding the election.
Ragdan El-Akabi says this year will vindicate FIAFI Group’s recent development into construction with a number of new opportunities in Iraq – including people who make a living from construction machinery.
The ballot crisis “will affect matters for a couple of months until the new government is formed. However, there are positive messages coming out of the political parties – which are encouraging.”
For a company comprised of 97% Iraqi nationals it is a patriotic push to serve both state-sponsored schemes – which has also recently announced a joint rail project by the electricity and transport ministries to deliver fuel to the Dora power station in the capital – as well as the next phase of the oil companies’ development.
These firms ‘will need the support of local Iraqi companies like FIAFI Group to help establish their camps’ in remote locations.
The international hunger and haste to capture the opportunities in Iraq has kept the company on its toes – though also allows it to demonstrate one of its logistical strengths with importing mandates.
“The international clients are always pressed for time,” El Akabi says. Things have to be done yesterday. Logistics plays a big part for the international companies and specialised equipment needs to be imported into the country. This is where our logistics arm plays a pivotal role in getting the equipment to the right locations on time – and intact.”
His belief that ‘security always comes top of the list’ will chime with a number of materials suppliers in the UAE still hedging their bets on the country.
Dinesh Nainani, general manager of Shaker Trading, a mid-sized supplier of steel products such as pipes sheets and tubes, said that although his firm has seen more business coming from Iraqi companies in the last year-and-a-half, the security situation means that the company does not plan to operate directly in the country.
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