Author: alan131210 » Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:09 pm
ERBIL: The recent economic and construction boom in Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital Erbil has led many visiting Ministers and businessmen to compare the city’s growth to that of the industrial mega city of Dubai, some suggesting in just five years Erbil could reach the same level.
“If Erbil continues on the recent path of development, there will be another Dubai after five years,” said Abdullah Bilhon, general manager of the industrial city of Dubai, who accompanied Lubna Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade and another 45 trade agencies to Kurdistan region on May 19.
Bilhon said oil plays an important role in the development of any region and Kurdistan would be no exception. He was further impressed by Erbil’s infrastructure.
“When I landed in Erbil airport I was surprised with the international airport facilities, I didn’t expect such a big airport in Erbil. There I found that Erbil is ahead of the other areas of Iraq in terms of development,” Bilhon told Rudaw.
A representative of the Abu Dhabi Telecom said that the current economic situation in Kurdistan region is very similar to early stages of economic developments in Emirates.
Mr. Bilhon was impressed by the rebuilding work being carried out in Erbil during his visit with the UAE delegation said “there are hidden chances of business and investment in Kurdistan.”
“We own the biggest industrial city in Dubai. We are looking forward to implement projects in Erbil. We want to reach Kurdistan markets and do investment here.”
Dubai is a model which the Kurdish leadership has been eager to copy to Erbil.
“We are working on reconstructing and developing Erbil in the same system as Dubai,” Nawzad Hadi, the Governor of Erbil told Rudaw. “We have tried to open our gates for all global companies for this purpose.”
Mr. Hadi said Erbil has not yet reached the level of Dubai but has ready seen significant improvements in economic infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and all other sectors.
Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, has seen great development since 2004. Many strategic projects have been implemented in that city such as new roads, hotels, parks and new markets. In 2008, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued an investment law which paved the way for international and local investors.
Abdulla Salih, a general director working at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, said that they did not want to bring the experience of Singapore and Hong Kong to Dubai.
“Any country can be a new example by itself. It’s important to hit the target as quickly as possible and more importantly to choose the economic field which this region can depend on for its development,” said Mr. Salih.
When The Wells Run Dry
Abdulla Bilhon said oil will be finished in Emirates one day so the city has planned ahead by reducing their economic dependency. Dubai’s leaders are now turning their attention to other economic sectors like industry and tourism. He suggests the same for Kurdistan.
“Kurdistan needs to have a solid economic infrastructure system that includes oil, agriculture, industry and tourism. This is not impossible for a region like Kurdistan, because this region is wealthy with natural resources such as gas, oil and other raw materials,” Bilhon said.
Bilhon said he saw a hidden capability for tourism in Kurdistan. To make the most of this he suggested an “open air space” to Kurdistan to attract more flights and more tourists. Also he urged the development of more hotels, parks, amusement parks, and a central market.
“The base exists here and it is time to work on it, to make it an important center of tourism in the Middle East” said Bilhon. “The beautiful nature of Kurdistan and its nice weather separate the region from other gulf countries. Snow stays on the mountains of Kurdistan.”
He also spoke of hidden investment opportunities. Kurdistan has the two important factors of security and economic development. He further praised the KRG strategy for attracting foreign investors.
“UAE companies are very eager to do investment work in Kurdistan” he said.
Education and training: a further key to development
Abdulla Salih said he considers the education field an important factor in the development process.
“KRG needs to spend the oil revenue on strengthening the level of education and basic infrastructures” he suggested. “KRG officials need to take benefit from the experience and technology of other countries”.
UAE currently has a residential population of 5,800,000 but less than 2 millions are UAE citizens. There are more than 60 governmental and private universities. UAE exports 2.2 million barrels of oil p/d and there are 97.8 billion barrels of oil reserve which is the sixth richest oil reserve in the world. Their economy is mainly dependent on oil, gas, petrochemical, aluminum and cement as well as ship construction, medicine products and bank services.
“At first we used outside capacity to train our people for development. Then we brought in foreign laborers,” said Edris Habbush. “The first priority of Kurdistan region is to develop its security situation because foreign laborers and foreign investors are looking for one thing - stability. Once there is stability, their money will be protected and they make profit.”
A(dho7AVf9ywEkAAAAY2E0MTg3OTQtNGMyMi00OWRkLWJjMmYtY2M4OGUwOTQwZDM4gDJq4qCYLu7oK9m4kLjCjzSv9jU1))/Img/News/carrzgar6-2.jpg)
