|
New skiing development for Iraqi Kurdistan?
8.7.2007
|
|
|
|
July 8, 2007
Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- Despite all the
negative news coming out Iraq, there is a glimmer of
hope.
It’s early days, but an investment and construction
boom underway in the largely unreported, relatively
peaceful Kurdistan region (northern part of Iraq),
has led to a wave of development proposals,
including the country’s first modern ski area.
Neighbouring Iran contains about 20 ski areas and
has a long history of winter sports dating back to
the era of the Shahs and the first half of the 20th
century. Despite the image of both nations as desert
countries, Iran actually has several entries in the
list of the world’s 20 highest ski areas.
The many ranges of the Zagros mountains extend along
southern and western Iran (Iranian Kurdistan) and
into Kurdistan autonomous region (northern Iraq).
Many peaks exceed 3000m (9,000ft), with the highest
point being Zard Kuh at 4548m (14,921 ft).
The rumors of a ski resort for Iraq come on a wave
of development projects in the relatively peaceful
Kurdistan sector in the north of the country, which
has been protected by a no-fly zone since 1991.
Although this "nation within a country" still has
many deprivations for most of the population,
foreign investment and money from wealthy Iraqis is
going in to new malls, housing developments, casinos
and mosques at levels measured in the billions of
dollars.
A New York Times article "Pointing to Stability,
Kurds in Iraq Lure Investors," on 27th June 2007
notes that The Kurdistan Regional Government is
investing $325 million in a modern terminal at the
Erbil International Airport to handle, officials
hope, millions of passengers a year, and a
three-mile runway that will be big enough for the
new double-decker Airbus A380.
“We’re not saying Kurdistan is heaven,” Herish
Muharam, chairman of the Kurdish government’s Board
of Investment told the NYT. “But we’re telling
investors that Kurdistan can be that heaven.”
skirebel com
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 