Karbala investment board negotiates with UAE firms

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A delegation from the Karbala Investment Board flew on Thursday to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for negotiations with investment companies to carry out projects in the holy Shiite province, a board spokesman said. “The delegation, led by the board chief, headed for the UAE in response to an invitation by companies in the Gulf state for negotiations over investment projects in the city,” Raed al-Asali told IraqiNews.com news agency. “One of these projects will be the New Karbala City near Lake al-Razzaza, (15 km) west of Karbal, and another project for a government department compound on the Najaf highway, (7 km) south of Karbala, over 194 donums, 20 of which were allocated to build the Supreme Judiciary Courthouse,” he added. One Iraqi donum equals 2,000 square meters. Asali said negotiations will also tackle a project to expand holy shrines in Karbala, which was designed by Iranian companies, in addition to different agro-industrial projects. He did not give further details on the costs of these projects. Karbala lies 100 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P) 1