Iraqi Kurdistan Shifts Investment Approach
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is shifting its investment and development focus from housing to tourism, agriculture and other industry, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari.
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is preparing to change its investment approach to focus on new areas of foreign and local investment — including tourism, agriculture and industry — after having focused exclusively on housing for the past six years.
According to statistics obtained by Al-Monitor from the General Investment Authority in the Kurdistan Region, foreign and local investments have reached $24.5 billion across 521 projects extending over an area of 8500 acres in the region’s three major cities, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk.
The regional government began granting licenses for investment projects after Kurdistan’s parliament issued Investment Law No. 4 in 2006.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has thus far focused primarily on housing projects, which have expanded to reach 8,500 units. Oil and health projects have also been initiated, local hospitals and 5-star hotels have been built, and small projects have been funded through grants in the agricultural, industrial and banking sectors.
