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Biz Boom in Kurdistan region Promising for
Korean Firms
12.3.2007
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March 12, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- 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. |
Photo: South Korea's Zaytun Division commander
General Hwang Jung-sun (left) and Nawjad Hadee, the
governor of Erbil Province (second right) join
students in a traditional dance at a dedication
ceremony for a new middle school in Erbil, Kurdistan
region (Iraq), on Saturday. Photo:Yonhap |
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.
chosun com
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