Kirkuk, Kurdistan Region - Iraq approved plans to transform the air base in Kirkuk into a modern civic airport. To do so it is seeking an investor to carry out the project an Iraqi MP told Rudaw, citing that several domestic and foreign companies have requested tender to start working on it.
“I talked to the minister of transportation and he told me the Kirkuk governor agreed to the plan but is looking for an investor,” said Arshad Salehi, Iraqi MP.
Salehi added that this was not the first time that the government decided to use the airbase for non-military purposes but the project has never succeeded due to disagreements between the ministries of defense and transportation.
A number of local and foreign investors including an Italian company have reportedly offered tenders to win the project but so far none have been accepted by the government.
"There are plenty of foreign investors applying for the project. A few days ago an Italian company visited us to know about the projects, but details about the project are yet to be released," the head of the Kirkuk Investment Board, told Rudaw.
The airbase is currently being used by Kurdish forces and is situated 37 square kilometers south of Kirkuk. It has been protected by the Peshmerga since mid-2014 after Iraqi military forces fled the area following Islamic States' (ISIS) takeover of Mosul.
Over the last ten years, the Iraqi government has been issuing decrees to calling for the transformation of the base into a civil airport, but the decision has not gone into enforcement yet.
The Iraqi defense ministry has claimed that the airport was its property. Since the Peshmerga took control of it however this argument has been rendered null and void.
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