A governorate in Iraq has reached an initial agreement with a consortium of Chinese companies to set up construction industries projects worth nearly $20 billion, an Iraqi official was quoted on Tuesday as saying.

Phase 1 of the contract in the Southern Al-Muthanna Governorate, which borders Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, comprises projects worth around $2 billion, said Adel Al-Yassiri, Director General of Al-Muthanna Investment Commission.

"We have given initial approval to the consortium of three Chinese firms to set up construction products industries in the Governorate with a total value of $20 billion," Yassiri told the Iraqi news network Aliqtisad News.

He said the projects include a porcelain and marble factory with a production capacity of 32,000 square metres a day, a ceramic plant with a capacity of 36,000 square metres a day, a health equipment factory as well as a power plant and other facilities.

Yassiri did not mention how such projects would be funded or whether they are within an oil-for-projects agreement signed between Iraq and China in 2019, allowing Baghdad to pay in oil for projects carried out by Chinese firms.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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