South Korea resumes construction projects in Iraq
Bismayah New City Project, located southeast of Baghdad. Photo: Hanwha E&C
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The South Korean and Iraqi governments resumed the work of the joint committee after six years of stalemate.
The joint committee between the two governments held a meeting on Wednesday in the South Korean capital, Seoul, to discuss mechanisms for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various fields such as infrastructure, transportation, and aviation, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In a press conference following the meeting of the joint committee, the Iraqi Minister of Trade, Atheer Daoud Al-Ghurairy, stated that the committee will solve the problem of the Bismayah New City Project (BNCP) within a few days, and it will resume along with other projects.
Al-Ghurairy indicated that the resumption of the project would provide more opportunities for South Korean companies.
The Iraqi Trade Minister explained that the new government adopts a completely different political approach and tries to make investment opportunities more transparent to improve the business environment.
The Iraqi official stressed that the Iraqi Parliament recently approved a 3-year budget bill, which will facilitate the implementation of major projects such as new cities and ports.
The Iraqi government presented 800 new investment projects during the meeting of the joint committee and asked Korean companies to take part in these projects, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Bismayah New City Project (BNCP) was planned to construct a new city 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, where it includes 108,000 housing units on an area of 18.3 square kilometers.
The project implementation rate has reached 40 percent so far, as more than 100,000 people are currently living in the 30,000 completed housing units.
Since 1984, the joint committee involving Baghdad and Seoul has consistently been in session. Eight sessions were held before it was frozen in 2017 due to the situation in Iraq.