Iraq Reconstruction News: Anbar issues range of investment licenses to foreign companies

Anbar’s provincial council, in collaboration with its investment committee, announced Monday (May 27th) it granted a number of investment licenses to foreign companies under the province’s 2013 development plan.

Anbar officials said they granted 17 investment licenses to a range of companies to build service, industrial, agricultural and recreational projects across the province.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi cabinet approved a law that aims to attract foreign investment through incentives such as exempting companies from taxes, fees and routine transactions.

Anbar provincial council member Mizher al-Mulla told Mawtani the projects slated to be built by foreign companies include housing, industrial plants, tourist cities and recreational facilities.

Before the licences were issued, the track records of all the companies were carefully reviewed and the top bids accepted, he said.

The Anbar council’s investment committee will work with central government agencies to monitor the work, in accordance with pre-determined designs and specifications, he added.

Engineering and technical committees from the council will regularly follow up on projects to ensure they are being completed properly, al-Mulla said.

PROJECTS TO PROVIDE JOB OPPORTUNITIES

The projects are expected to provide employment for about 4,000 engineers, technicians and labourers “at good monthly salaries”, said investment committee member Ahmed al-Dulaimi.

“The construction materials to be used in all construction phases will be subjected to laboratory tests to ensure their quality and applicability before their use,” al-Dulaimi said.

“Each project will be given modern equipment and supplies by a specialised committee,” he added.

“The committee received offers from French, Korean, Chinese, Norwegian, Saudi, Turkish and Jordanian companies to invest their capital in Anbar, which has a wealth of mineral and human resources,” Shaker Imad, of the council’s services committee, told Mawtani.

“The central government and the Anbar provincial council are trying to provide all legal assistance possible to the investing companies,” he said. These include “waiving taxes and fees government directorates and agencies usually deduct when processing applications, and ensuring all the companies’ needs for backing and assistance are met”.

Anbar’s local government also helps investment companies obtain land for their projects based on the type and scale of each project, Imad said.

The local government, monitoring bodies and follow up committees also will impose fines and penalties with legal consequences on companies that attempt fraud or fail to hand over projects on time, he said.

Source: Al-Shorfa