ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A giant steel factory was opened in Erbil on Tuesday, which will be able to produce nearly 1,000 tons of steel per day, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said. The Med Steel factory has been built in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region. A private investment of $100 million was spent on the factory complex, according to Barzani. Barzani has called the plant the “greatest and most advanced factory in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.” “We will do our best to diversify the economy of Kurdistan,” Barzani said at the event announcing the opening of the factory. “I am glad to see that such a great factory was built with international standards.” “We have heard this factory has the capacity to produce 350 thousand tons of metal and steel annually,” he stated, adding steel could be exported to Iraq and elsewhere. “It will also create more than a thousand job opportunities.” The PM said the Kurdistan Region is rich with natural resources but these resources have not been used “sufficiently” so far. Other smaller factories are also located in the steel factory complex, such as one which will produce 52 megawatts of power. There are also metal melting and recycling factories. Abdulstar Majeed, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament from the Kurdistan Justice Group, told Rudaw he will submit a proposal to the legislature to push for the reopening of factories which were operating before 2003. “The idea is to find job opportunities for the youth and unemployed in the Kurdistan Region,” Majeed said. “During the reign of the Baathist Regime, a great number of factories were operating and many people worked there." Mohammed Shukri, the head of the Kurdistan Board of Investment, told Rudaw they have approved proposals to build 163 factories throughout the Kurdistan Region. The KRG said on Friday that a large complex of silos and factories is being built in Erbil to receive and process locally-grown wheat, creating over 3,000 jobs. The Kurdistan Region is highly reliant on oil revenues, and imports most of its goods and construction needs from neighboring Iran and Turkey.
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