Sugar factory to provide 8,000 job opportunities
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Qubad Talabani on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a sugar factory under construction near Ranya that will provide 8,000 job opportunities and produce at least 500 tons of sugar daily.
Talabani hailed the project, saying it is an investment for a “brighter future.”
“I am optimistic that we have reached a stage where our investors and producers are focusing on strategic projects. They are, less than before, thinking of building residential complexes and are gradually looking to agricultural production. This brings us news of a brighter future,” he said during a ceremony in Bitwen, near Ranya city on Thursday.
“Focusing on agriculture and providing job opportunities are two of our priorities,” said Talabani. “Beside the fact that this will provide 8,000 job opportunities, directly and indirectly, it will also develop the agriculture sector.”
Agriculture is a focus of the government, which is trying to diversify the economy and decrease its dependency on oil.
“We want to make the agricultural sector a fundamental sector of the economy and a source of income for our country,” said Minister of Agriculture Begard Talabani. The current government has boosted its investment in agriculture and wants to see more domestic products for sale in the markets.
Fond of very sweet tea, the Kurdistan Region consumes a lot of sugar, which it imports.
“In 2019, the Kurdistan Region imported more than 140,000 tons of white sugar. In this factory and other factories, that import can be replaced with local production,” said Mohammed Shukri, chairman of the Board of Investment, adding that the cost of the project is $114 million.
The Bitwen sugar factory will produce 500 to 600 tons of sugar daily from sugar beets, according to Luqman Qamtari, a representative of Abur Land group, which has invested in the factory. Byproducts from the processing of the beetroot will be used to make items like vinegar and cleaning products, he added.
Abur Land group, registered in 2010 in the Kurdistan Region, is under investigation for allegedly illegally hoarding six billion euros in a London bank. Karwan Gaznay, a member of the Kurdistan Region parliament, raised concerns about the company last May.
The case was investigated by parliament’s Integrity Committee, which did not find evidence to confirm the allegation, but referred it to the public prosecutor.
“We tried hard to get some information, most importantly how was this money transported. There should be a bank account. The bank account was not there. If it was by land or sea, it also needs to be proved … There was no bank account in the name of Abur Land that has made money transactions,” Mustafa Harki, deputy chair of the integrity committee, told Rudaw English on Friday.
“Eventually we came to the decision that it should be directed to the public prosecutor. We didn’t get any results,” he added.
Abur Land has rejected the allegations. They are “far from the truth,” said the company’s lawyer Mohammed Said in a press conference last May. The company launched a defamation lawsuit and is demanding compensation from the MP who first made the accusation.
Talabani hailed the project, saying it is an investment for a “brighter future.”
“I am optimistic that we have reached a stage where our investors and producers are focusing on strategic projects. They are, less than before, thinking of building residential complexes and are gradually looking to agricultural production. This brings us news of a brighter future,” he said during a ceremony in Bitwen, near Ranya city on Thursday.
“Focusing on agriculture and providing job opportunities are two of our priorities,” said Talabani. “Beside the fact that this will provide 8,000 job opportunities, directly and indirectly, it will also develop the agriculture sector.”
Agriculture is a focus of the government, which is trying to diversify the economy and decrease its dependency on oil.
“We want to make the agricultural sector a fundamental sector of the economy and a source of income for our country,” said Minister of Agriculture Begard Talabani. The current government has boosted its investment in agriculture and wants to see more domestic products for sale in the markets.
Fond of very sweet tea, the Kurdistan Region consumes a lot of sugar, which it imports.
“In 2019, the Kurdistan Region imported more than 140,000 tons of white sugar. In this factory and other factories, that import can be replaced with local production,” said Mohammed Shukri, chairman of the Board of Investment, adding that the cost of the project is $114 million.
The Bitwen sugar factory will produce 500 to 600 tons of sugar daily from sugar beets, according to Luqman Qamtari, a representative of Abur Land group, which has invested in the factory. Byproducts from the processing of the beetroot will be used to make items like vinegar and cleaning products, he added.
Abur Land group, registered in 2010 in the Kurdistan Region, is under investigation for allegedly illegally hoarding six billion euros in a London bank. Karwan Gaznay, a member of the Kurdistan Region parliament, raised concerns about the company last May.
The case was investigated by parliament’s Integrity Committee, which did not find evidence to confirm the allegation, but referred it to the public prosecutor.
“We tried hard to get some information, most importantly how was this money transported. There should be a bank account. The bank account was not there. If it was by land or sea, it also needs to be proved … There was no bank account in the name of Abur Land that has made money transactions,” Mustafa Harki, deputy chair of the integrity committee, told Rudaw English on Friday.
“Eventually we came to the decision that it should be directed to the public prosecutor. We didn’t get any results,” he added.
Abur Land has rejected the allegations. They are “far from the truth,” said the company’s lawyer Mohammed Said in a press conference last May. The company launched a defamation lawsuit and is demanding compensation from the MP who first made the accusation.