Basra appropriates ID242b to service projects for Khaleeji 21

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: The local administration in Basra decided to appropriate the sum of 242.2 billion Iraqi dinars (ID) to carry out service and urban projects within preparations to host the Khaleeji 21 soccer tournament, a spokesman said on Thursday. “The higher committee for the rehabilitation of Basra, chaired by Governor Shaltagh Abboud al-Mayyah, earmarked ID242.2 billion for projects that comprise the construction of three bridges in the city and two others in the province’s districts as well as the rejuvenation of five main intersections,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The projects also include the rehabilitation of a road between the Khalid Bridge on the Shatt al-Arab waterway, the airport road and other roads leading to the Sports City,” he added. The oil-rich port city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The Arabian Gulf Cup of Nations, or known as Khaleeji, is a soccer tournament currently held every two years rotating the host city every edition. Previously the competition was usually held on a biannual basis, but the history of the competition has also seen it held every three, or even four years, due to political, or organizational problems. The Arabian Gulf Cup of Nations was founded at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico by Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The First Arabian Gulf Cup tournament took place in Bahrain in 1970, and was won by the Kuwaiti team. The 2009 Arabian Gulf Cup, Khaleeji 19, took place in Muscat, Oman, from 4 January to 17 January 2009 and was won by Oman, for the first time in their history by beating regional leaders, Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout. AmR (S) 122