On Thursday, the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals inked three private sector cooperation agreements totaling a fertilizer manufacturing plant in Basra, rehabilitation of a fertilizer plant in Salah al-Din, and another in Babylon.
In front of Minister of Industry and Minerals, Khaled Batal, the media office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said, as reported by Shafaq News Agency, that the latter sponsored the signing of three partnership contracts for industrial projects involving the private sector.
The projects include the Baiji fertilizer factory in Salah Al-Din Governorate, with a production capacity of 672 thousand tons per year, the establishment of a plant in Abu Al-Khaseeb district in Basra Governorate with a design capacity of 90 tons daily of caustic soda, and the expansion of the soda and chlorine factory in Babil Governorate with a design capacity of 90 tons daily of caustic soda and 80 tons daily of chlorine.
Al-Sudani underlined the government’s emphasis on the industrial sector to satisfy the local market and export the surplus, pointing to the three projects that will meet Iraq’s whole need for fertilizers, especially the Baiji fertilizer project, which was rebuilt after being destroyed by terrorism.
He underlined the government’s eagerness to provide running gas at discounted rates for these enterprises, therefore enabling the required chemical goods for the oil sector, which before needed hard money to purchase from overseas.
Al-Sudani advised the implementing businesses to cut the contractual period for completion and directed those in charge of the work to show the issues the projects were running across, therefore hastening their resolution. He also oversaw public company operations to assist the investors starting these initiatives.
In order to achieve added value, which is the real reform, in addition to supporting the private sector, as the success of any ministry in these partnerships will be an incentive for other ministries, in addition to the reform measures taken in the banking sector, which represent a pillar for supporting successful projects in the private sector, he underlined stressing that the government has no intention of privatizing government companies but rather aims to achieve partnership with the private sector in a productive manner.
Based on dry gas in collaboration with the Southern General Fertilizer Company, the signed contracts comprise the establishment of a urea plant in Abu Al-Khaseeb, the rehabilitation and operation of the Baiji fertilizer plant, in partnership with a Qatari company, and the technological foundations of a major Swiss company in the field of ammonia and urea. Regarding the growth of the soda and chlorine factory under Euphrates General Company, it introduces several chemical goods and soda flakes to satisfy regional needs.
