Iraq Investment Summit provides lucrative opportunities for construction & engineering operators

Hosted in formal partnership with the US Department of Defence Task Force for Business Stability & Operations and the American Chamber of Commerce-Iraq, the summit takes place on the instruction of Iraqi Minister of Industry & Minerals HE Fawzi Hariri, who wishes to open up Iraq's largest non-oil sectors to the commercial market.

Minister Hariri will be attending the summit with Director Generals from Iraq's leading and most lucrative state owned enterprises, which include the State Companies for Construction, Cement, Glass & Ceramics, Iron & Steel, Mechanical Industries, Automotive Industries, Engineering, Heavy Engineering, Information Systems and Electrical Industries.

These senior officials are attending with the purpose of sitting down over the course of the two days to discuss investment opportunities, consider production sharing agreements and sign letters of intent, with participation strongly recommended for all operators working within these key sectors.

Iraq's construction industry is among the most crucial within the country, with huge demand for services and materials to support the transformation required to rebuild infrastructure, following years of neglect. It is estimated that as much as $2.5bn is needed in investment to bring the various production facilities up to full capacity.

The summit is therefore viewed by the Ministry as the key opportunity to discuss the commercial development of these sectors, building on the initial success enjoyed last year when tenders were issued to a small number of operators.

This process is viewed as the first step towards privatisation of Iraqi industry.