Japan announces setting up 7 new projects in Iraq
Basra refinery. Photo: Prokop Engineering
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Japanese Ambassador to Iraq, Futoshi Matsumoto, announced on Sunday that the Japanese government is setting up seven new projects in Iraq.
Matsumoto told INA that the loans Japan granted to Iraq last for 40 years with a low interest rate of 0.2 percent.
“During the past 20 years, Japanese companies have carried out around 30 major projects in Iraq. Seven new projects will be carried out if the Iraqi government allocates some funds in its budget for the next year,” Matsumoto stated.
The Japanese Ambassador indicated that two projects are scheduled to be carried out in 2023, clarifying that the first is the Basra Refinery Upgrading Project and the second is a water desalination project in Muthanna governorate.
Matsumoto elaborated that the cost of the project in Muthanna is $300 million, noting that it is a very important project to develop the infrastructure in Iraq.
The Japanese Ambassador confirmed that Japan continues its support for Iraq through soft loans.
The Japanese embassy in Iraq mentioned last week that Matsumoto and the Iraqi Minister of Finance, Taif Sami, together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), signed and exchanged notes concerning the provision of the fifth batch of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan worth $1.4 billion for the Basra Refinery Upgrading Project, the biggest Japanese project in Iraq.
The project aims at saving foreign currencies spent on importing fuel, improving trade, reducing the fiscal deficit, and providing economic and employment opportunities for the people of Iraq, according to a statement issued by the Japanese embassy in Iraq.
The project will also contribute to modernizing Iraq’s energy industry and paving a way to attract the private sector to Iraq’s energy sector, in addition to reducing air pollution by reducing sulfur content in oil products, according to the statement.
The statement illustrated that Japan’s advanced technical and engineering skills will be utilized at the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Complex in Basra Refinery with a remarkably low interest rate of 0.2 percent per annum, contributing to the financial stability of Iraq.