Iraq has formally approved a Chinese private company to build its first industry city focusing on the production of steel and other metals, an official said on Thursday.

Tsingshan Holding Group will undertake the project in the Southern oil hub of Basra after it was selected by the Industry Ministry in early 2024.

“The cabinet has given its approval to finalize the contract with that Chinese company to build an industry city in Basra,” said Abbas Hayal, Director of Iraq’s state-owned General Steel Company (GSC) said in a statement published by the official Iraqi News Agency.

Hayal did not provide project details but officials have earlier said the city would be established on the premises of GSC, which was the country’s main steel producer before production was halted during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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