Egyptian billionaire to build city outside of Baghdad in Iraq

 

Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of Orascom Investment Holding (OIH), said one of his companies, Ora Developers, is negotiating with Iraqi government agencies to build an entire city outside Baghdad.

A press conference was held by Sawiris to announce the completion of the first phase of the ZED Sheikh Zayed project, one of Ora Developers' projects in Egypt.

A 55 million square meter area is currently being measured to determine the size of the new city, according to the Egyptian businessman.

Sawiris confirmed his intention to launch a major project in Iraqi real estate following a meeting with the Prime Minister last July.

The project marks the return of the Egyptian billionaire to the Iraqi market, where he previously invested in the telecommunications sector nearly 20 years ago.

Although the Egyptian businessman has never invested in real estate development in Iraq, he did invest in Iraqi telecommunications in 2003.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) reports that Sawiris met with Haider Makiya, chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC), in Baghdad in January 2023 to discuss real estate investment opportunities.

Outside of the Iraqi capital, the two gentlemen discussed building large cities for high- and low-income individuals.

Additionally, the OIH is considering other projects to alleviate the congestion in Baghdad in large cities.

Money and investments appear to be coming into Iraq rather quickly after the announcement of the Development Road Project. 

The $17 billion Development Road Project will bridge Asia to Europe and is not to be confused with China's abitions to connect China to Europe.  The Chinees plan does not go through Iraq, yet China is investing in Iraq's Decvelopmehnt Road Project.  The project includes 746 miles of railway and roadway starting in Southern Iraq and connecting to Europe Mediterrain Sea via Turkey who is also a partner in the project.