Iraq has kicked off a project to be executed by a Qatari investment company in the capital Baghdad for the construction of a tourism village, the local media said on Friday.

Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani on Thursday laid the ground stone for ‘Rixos Baghdad’ tourism village that will be built by Estithmar Holding, a publicly listed Qatari group with a diverse portfolio of 51 companies.

“Rixos Baghdad is the first tourism project in the framework of cooperation between Iraq and Qatar…We believe that Qatar has experienced companies and pioneering investment initiatives,” Sudani said in his statements, published by Shafaq News and other Iraqi publications.

The report said the 47,000-sq-metre project in central Baghdad comprises a luxury hotel, a housing complex, a chain of international restaurants and other facilities.

In June 2023, Estithmar Holding announced the signing of three memorandums of understanding worth $7 billion with Iraq’s National Investment Commission to develop new cities, 5-star hotels and manage and operate several hospitals in Iraq.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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