UK Export Finance (UKEF) has agreed to provide support to the Ministry of Finance, Iraq in respect of the supply of goods and services by GCITJ Babel, a Turkish-British-Iraqi joint venture for the improvement and upgrading of stormwater and wastewater management infrastructure and capacity in Hilla City, Iraq.
The principal value of the support is approximately $298 million.
GCITJ Babel is a joint venture of Turkey’s GAMA Industrial Plants Manufacturing and Erection, UK’s James Cubitt & Partners, and Iraqi companies Al-Ehtifad General Contracting, Jazirah Al-Mansour Trading & Investment Co., and Al-Tafweed Company for General Trading.
According to the project statement, a key aim of Iraq’s Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Municipalities – General Director of Sewage together with the local Governorate of Babel is for the Project to improve the quality of the supplied drinking water and sanitation facilities for the surrounding community. The current system is sometimes overwhelmed which causes sewage to overflow, leading to health issues. The Project will also develop and improve Hillah’s drainage infrastructure.
The Project is part one of a three phase project and comprises the construction of:
1. five Sewage Pumping Stations (SPS),
2. four Rainwater Pumping Stations (RPS) and
3. three combined SPS and RPS pumping stations. The stations will be connected to an extensive local sewage and storm water transport (pipeline) network.
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is the lending bank, the UKEF statement noted.
