Calls to revive 35,000 idle factories

by **Rocky** Thu 07 Nov 2024, 4:41 am

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Calls to revive 35,000 idle factories

by Rocky Thu 07 Nov 2024, 4:41 am

Calls to revive 35,000 idle factories

Economic 2024/11/07
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Economic experts believe that the stalled Iraqi industry has begun to move, calling for the need to support government policies to revive it.
The head of the Iraqi Federation of Industries, Adel Akab, confirmed that efforts are ongoing to revive thousands of industrial factories in all regions of Iraq, noting that there are factories that need to update production lines and others need to be rehabilitated.
He said: The government's orientation is to revive local industries in their various aspects with the aim of reducing imports, especially since the components of reviving the national industry are available in the country, and we can achieve self-sufficiency in some of them, and others we can integrate with other markets to cover local demand for their products.
He pointed out that efforts are continuing with all parties to activate the reality of the national industry in the country.
In turn, the economic expert, Dr. Nabil Al-Marsoumi, explained in an interview with "Al-Sabah" that the latest statistics on Iraqi industries indicate the existence of about 67 thousand small and medium factories, noting that about 35 thousand of them are stalled.
Al-Marsoumi attributed this to various reasons related to the lack of support, especially with regard to the issue of electricity and fuel, in addition to opening the borders to foreign goods competing with similar Iraqi goods, accompanied by the fact that most of the goods imported from neighboring countries are subsidized in their countries in terms of production revenues and even in terms of the exchange rate.
He pointed out that there is unfair competition, which led to this large number of factories that have stopped working in the country, stressing at the same time that if these factories were to operate or return to service again, a large percentage of unemployment would decrease, by providing 3 million additional job opportunities, which would enhance economic and societal security, in addition to reducing crime rates resulting from the repercussions of unemployment, not to mention providing foreign currencies that come out as a result of importing goods.
He noted that re-operating this large number or part of it is an attractive factor for foreign investors, especially since there are some foreign investors who want to invest in various projects, including dairy projects, pointing out the existence of various projects such as the "Kala and Al-Marai" projects.
He stressed the need to preserve the skills of the Iraqi workforce instead of letting them disappear, and to work on re-operating and updating them, and to seek to bring in some new production lines, which would enhance the added value in the country.
He hinted that re-operating these factories affects the front and back links, meaning that it affects the joints of the national industry, as it is possible to pay sums and fees to more than 27 government departments and organizations, not to mention its effects from a health perspective, as it is better to produce food dates locally and dispense with preservatives for long periods, and their effects on public health.
In the same vein, the Ministry of Industry recently announced a contract to establish a sponge iron production plant in Basra Governorate. Minister of Industry Khaled Batal Al-Najm explained in a press conference that “the companies affiliated with the ministry and operating in the governorate are important, including the General Company for the Production of Southern Fertilizers, which produces DAP and urea fertilizers, which are being prepared for farmers these days, according to the winter agriculture plan.” He explained that “the company previously provided the ministry with 50,000 tons, and now it has produced 2,400 tons, and has contracted for 150,000 tons of raw materials.”
For his part, the General Manager of the Iron and Steel Company, Abbas Hayal, explained that "the coming days will witness the full operation of the iron and steel plant, after the completion rate today reached 92%, and that the design capacity of this plant reaches half a million tons annually."
He stressed that "next month will witness a contract with one of the companies to build a special plant for the production of sponge iron with a capacity of one million tons annually; which is the raw material for twenty iron and steel factories," noting that "it is supposed to produce 7 million tons annually, but it is now producing two million, due to the shortage of sponge iron and its reliance
on scrap iron."
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