British investors are to build new homes
in Halabja, the town in Kurdish Iraq where thousands were murdered
by Saddam Hussein in a notorious gas attack in 1988.
The homes are part of a $2 billion (£1.07 billion) infrastructure
project agreed between Anglo-Kurdistan, a new company, and the
Kurdistan regional government.
About 25,000 houses will be built in Kurdistan, jointly with Baraez
Construction, an Iraqi company. The venture will also build schools,
hospitals and other facilities in several locations in the
northeastern region of Iraq.
The project is led by John Vergopoulos, chairman of Anglo-Kurdistan,
which was created to exploit energy investment opportunities in the
Kurdish region of Iraq. Mr Vergopoulos, a chartered accountant and
director of Spiritel, the AIM-quoted telecoms firm, said that he and
Lord St John of Bletso, his partner, began to investigate oil
licences in Kurdish Iraq last year. Talks with the Kurdish
government revealed a chronic shortage of basic facilities.
Mr Vergopolous said that he had been shocked by the state of local
infrastructure. “They have a severe housing and energy shortage. We
felt that if we could help, it could lead to other opportunities,”
he said.
Several foreign exploration groups are prospecting for oil in
Kurdistan, notably DNO, of Norway, which last week announced the
discovery of 100 million barrels. The find has added to tensions
between Erbil, the Kurdish capital, and Baghdad, where political
opposition to the Kurdish regional government’s oil licencing
initiatives has
been voiced.
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