50 companies compete to design sports city in Basra

Basra – Voices of Iraq   Friday , 19 /09 /2008  Time 2:21:00   BASRA, Sept. 19 (Iraqi News) – More than 50 global companies will arrive on Friday in Baghdad to present the special designs of the sports city in Basra, the Basra mayor said. “Representatives of more than 50 companies will arrive in Baghdad today to present their special designs of the sports city in Basra and then will head for southern city to view the location,” Mohamed Mosbeh al-Waeli told IraqiNews.com – Voices of Iraq (Iraqi News). “The designing stage is one of the important stages,” he highlighted, noting that setting up some important projects will precede the main project to support and facilitate it. “The project envisages the establishment of several sports institutions as it will be the largest establishment in Iraq since the establishment of the Iraqi state,” the mayor revealed. He pointed out to the formation of joint committees of federal and local governments for that purpose. The sports city, west of Basra, will envisage the establishment of 50,000-spectator stadium, a hotel, a medical center and a press conference room, according to local sources. Basra, 590 km (340 miles) south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an estimated metropolitan population of 2,300,000 in 2008. Basra, a Shiite province with 20% of the population are Sunnis, is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history. The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city’s oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd). The only Iraqi outlet to the sea, Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname “The Venice of the Middle East” at least at high tide. The only Iraqi outlet to the sea, Basra has the commercial ports of Iraq. SH (S) 1