KurdistanObserver.com
Biz Boom in Kurdistan region Promising for
Korean Firms
Cho.Sun
Erbil, (Southern Kurdistan), -Mar 12,
2007- It's a Saturday afternoon in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and a runway is
being rebuilt at Erbil Airport, just five minutes from the base of South Korea's
Zaytun Division. The area is in the middle of a construction boom.
The airport's main runway is being extended to 4.7km and widened to 45m to make
it ready for jumbo aircraft like Boeing 747s, while in town large-scale
apartment complexes with names like "Empire World" and "Dream City" are going up
around the city.
The boom is part of the provincial government's plan to turn Erbil into a
thriving commercial hub in the post-Saddam Hussein-era. The Empire World project
measures some 825,000 sq.m and includes a hotel and casino, while the massive
Dream City residential project measures 1.089 million sq.m and will feature
1,000 apartment houses.
Right now most of the development in Erbil is being done by businesses from
nearby countries like Turkey and Lebanon, but Erbil's leaders are keen to
attract investment from South Korea.
The prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the body that rules
northern Iraq's Kurdistan Region, has noted with interest South Korean
investments in other Middle Eastern countries.
In a meeting with South Korean journalists
Saturday, Nawjad Hadee, the governor of Erbil Province, said he's hoping Korean
oil and energy businesses will recognize his region's potentials. He unfolded a
map on a table and pointed to nearby oil fields. "Thanks to the trust built by
the Zaytun Division, we'd like to help South Korea companies develop Erbil's oil
fields," Hadee said. Iraq has the world's third-largest oil deposits with proven
reserves of around 115 billion barrels.
The South Korean government, which has been reluctant to promote investment in
Iraq because of the unstable security situation, is now starting to change its
position. In late January the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy sent a
trade mission, including representatives from oil companies, to Iraq to look
into development possibilities.
Last Thursday, a consortium of Korean companies including the Korean National
Oil Corporation, Samsung Corporation and SK Corporation, sent a geological unit
to Iraq to survey some potential drilling sites, while the Ministry of
Construction and Transportation signed an agreement last month to participate in
a project to improve Erbil's aging water and sewage systems.
If all goes well, South Korea could enjoy another business boom in the Middle
East. Early last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade joined with
the so-called Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) based in Erbil. By June the
RRT's work should be in full-swing, including an economic development project
and the Zaytun Division's regional reconstruction duties. The development
projects stem from the presence of the South Korean troops in the area.
For this reason, military officers have stressed the importance of plans to
carry out development after the Korean troops are brought home. There is support
for a gradual troop pull-out, rather than a quick one, so that the development
projects can build on the foundation of trust the Zaytun Division has created.
But experts point out that there are still many issues that must be addressed
before investment can begin in earnest, including the precarious security
situation in Erbil and the ongoing nationwide political turmoil.
