Photo By Maj. Rebecca Walsh | National and provincial government officials, sheiks, investors, businessmen, and...... read more read more
TIKRIT, Iraq – More than 250 people including national and provincial government officials, sheiks, investors, businessmen, and members of the Salah ad-Din Provincial Reconstruction Team attended the Salah ad-Din Investment Conference at the Provincial Council building, May 20.
The conference facilitated dialog between investors, the Provincial Investment Commission and business leaders within the community.
Provincial Council Chairman Abu Mazin saw the conference as a chance to bring investors together to solve problems.
"The resources in the province have the opportunity to give us help to start a new investment movement … so we should work together, especially foreign investors to improve the income of the people of Salah ad Din," he said.
According to the PIC, Salah ad-Din's natural resources such as oil, gas, sulfur, phosphate and limestone make it an ideal place for investors.
Tami Saab, deputy chairman of the commission, describes the province as "a strategic place in the middle of Iraq."
"A major road connects the north with the south making it easier to transport goods and the fertile land near the Tigris River can support agriculture," he said.
According to Saab, because of increased security in the province, tourism is also an emerging investment opportunity.
"Tourism has increased in Balad and Samarra. Tourism has increased to 500,000 [annual] visitors in Balad and three million in Samarra. We need restaurants, health centers and hotels for tourists," he said.
In addition to investing in natural resources and tourism, the Bayji Oil Refinery continues to be a large contributor to the economy.
"The Bayji Oil Refinery is the biggest refinery in Iraq, we've increased to three or 400,000 barrels of refined oil per day," said Dr. Abdul Ghafwar, first deputy at the refinery.
"We have 8,000 employees, 2,000 temporary employees. The company is looking forward through new projects to increase capacity and provide services for the people of Salah ad-Din," he continued.
Dr. Ali Saleh Hussein Saleh Al Jabouri, the president of Tikrit University encouraged investors to look at opportunities the university can provide.
"There are many opportunities, new colleges, dormitories, sports fields and restaurants can be built, and we are ready to discuss these possibilities with investors. It's good for the investors and the province," he said.
Several successful entrepreneurs were also invited to the conference to share their success stories.
For Qatan Kareem, whose latest business venture is a recycling project on Contingency Operating Base Speicher, supporting Iraqi families and boosting the economy are his main reasons for investing in Salah ad-Din. His business has grown from four workers and one vehicle, to more than 433 employees with 260 vehicles.
"We insist on building our country," he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2010 14:47 |
| Story ID: | 50132 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 262 |
| Downloads: | 174 |
This work, Investing in Salah ad Din, by MAJ Rebecca Walsh, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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