Najaf Airport Tussle: Risks of Iraq Investment

Najaf’s airport was meant to be a symbol of Iraq getting back to business, and in many ways it’s been a success, creating jobs and spurring a construction craze in the Shia shrine city. But an increasingly bitter dispute between local authorities and the Kuwaiti contractor brought in to run the facility is casting a cloud over one of Iraq’s proudest postwar accomplishments and prompting accusations of political meddling.

The stand-off serves as a warning to other companies considering answering Baghdad’s calls to snap up investment opportunities and pump needed development money into the country. It highlights how risks go beyond bombings to widespread corruption, uncertain legal protections and inadequate government oversight.

Najaf International Airport opened a year-and -a-half ago to great fanfare. It was a landmark in developing Iraq’s mainly Shia south, which ousted ruler Saddam Hussein had largely neglected.

Since then, foreign carriers such as Gulf Air have moved in, ferrying planeloads of pilgrims to Najaf, home to some of Shia Islam’s holiest sites. That provides work for locals, including thousands of taxi drivers outfitted with brand new Chevrolet Aveo yellow cabs financed by the provincial government. The boosted visitor numbers have fueled a wave of new building projects in the city.

“The airport changed the landscape of the place,” said Nouri Jawad, general manager of Qasr Al Dur, a four-star hotel in the city centre. The airport, which was converted from a military air base, is noteworthy for its normality. - Peninsula