Iraqi, Arab firms granted investment permits in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: The investment commission in Karbala has issued nine permits for Iraqi and Arab investors wishing to carry out projects in the province at a total cost of $535 million U.S. dollars. “The projects are in the hotel, service, housing and industrial sectors,” a media spokesperson for the commission, Raed al-Assly, told IraqiNews.com news agency. A building permit has been granted to the Iraqi Arko Company to build 4.500 housing units on an area of 500 donums (1 donum= 2,500 square meters) at a cost of $198.5 million U.S. dollars, the spokesperson noted. The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 1