MAS company : Iraq is built by its sons
The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group, announced for providing funding worth $ 375 million for global Mass company for Energy in Sulaimaniya, one of the Iraqi leading companies in the energy field of Iraqi companies, with the aim of providing electricity to millions of people across the country, particularly in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where the migrant crisis exhausted the energy infrastructure.
The firm said in a statement released from it , that this investment is part of a larger effort by the International Finance Corporation to support the development of infrastructure in Iraq, which require lifting its capacity of electricity production by an estimated 70% to meet the current demand only. And added that this investment is part of its strategy to support countries affected by conflicts, as investment in the private sector is essential to re-establish and improve infrastructure and create jobs and promote growth.
This financing includes , which includes a group of loans and investments in equity , $ 250 million from the special account of the institution and the amount of $ 125 million from Bank Audah, and it is considered the first common Islamic loan of the institution. And the Mass Global Energy Company in Sulaymaniyah will use this funding to add a capacity of 500 megawatts to the electricity production plant with a capacity thousand megawatts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq which will provide electricity to about 3 million person-and to assist in the completion of the new power production station near Baghdad, which It will supply the Iraqi capital, about half of its electricity needs.
For his part, Philippe Le Horo, Chief Executive Officer of IFC, said that ” such this investment is crucial in a country which years of war and neglect disrupted its infrastructure, resulting in a daily interruptions in electricity and impeding economic growth. and” Ahmad Ismail, Chairman of the Board of management of Mass global company for energy said : “We appreciate the institutions such as the international finance Corporation, which has doubled its efforts to invest in such an important sector and the energy sector, especially in challenging areas. Therefore, to increase the energy production in Iraq is vital for the time being, and that our partnership with the International Finance Corporation and Bank Audi will help to achieve this and add 500 megawatts to the national grid. “
Perhaps thanks to the adoption of this funding is due mainly to Mr. Ahmad Ismail, chairman of Global Mass company for Energy , what is known about this type of businessmen who are enjoed by high credibility and good reputation that made him worthy of trust by IFC. This man is a self-taught businessmen in Iraq in general and Kurdistan in particular, he is not one of the businessmen group who emerged in the post-2003 Iraq ., But has a long history in the business sector.
This man utilized his work in the electricity, steel mills and cement sector in order to serve his homeland of Iraq, and his goal was not like any other businessmen to achieve only material profit. The best evidence of this, not receiving his financial dues, estimated at billions of dollars from the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to be taken into account the difficult economic situation through which the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government are passing alike, and although it still offers his services to his country simply because he is one of the noble businessmen . For example, if those governments were late in the paying their financial dues to foreign companies operating in Iraq , they were not hesitated to raise lawsuits against them in the international courts, and also to freeze its activities in Iraq .National positions of Mr. Ahmad Ismail is not limited to the stated positions but the circle of his positions is widened to include higher education as well as he initiates to donate by tens of millions of dollars to cover tuition costs for graduate distinguished students in scientific and education fields. This is the first time of its kind in which a businessman was emerged to do this kind of initiatives.
We conclude by saying that this funding is an economic lesson for all of the Baghdad government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to take the initiative in helping the businessman Ahmed Ismail and other Iraqi businessmen like him and support the private sector to build their country to promote economic development in Iraq. The granting of the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group this loan to Ahmed Ismail and such a large amount of money, we are in front of an Iraqi economic giant must rely on.
Rawabet Research and Strategic Studies Center
