Dubai: Known as Iraq's Venice, Maysan is a governorate in the south-east of Iraq, where marshes profuse. The provincial capital overlooking the Tigris River is Al Amarah. The second major city in the province is Majar Al Kabir.
The province's beauty is only matched by its investment opportunities, as the governorate was neglected by Iraq's former regime for decades.
Talking to Gulf News, Maysan's governor and head of the provincial government Ali Dawai said that Arab and foreign investors are welcome to carry out projects in all fields, from the economic sector through oil, agriculture and industrial projects, to the education sector.
Another field which is widely open to investors is the vertical housing sector, he added, as the governorate is in dire need for mega projects that can provide thousands of flats and residential units.
The land is available, Dawai told Gulf News, and developers will be facilitated and assisted by the local government.
The safe and secure environment of Maysan is an added bonus, Dawai reiterated, as he explained that the province was not subjected to any of the destabilising terrorist acts witnessed in Iraq since 2003, due to the solidarity of its people with the security forces, and the high sense of responsibility felt by all towards their governorate.
Wealthy in oil resources, water, agricultural land, and manpower, Maysan is truly the picture of a healthy and prosperous future, where investments are safe and promising.
Gulf News: How did you find the Maysan governorate when you started work as governor a few months ago?
Ali Dawai: The governorate was treading slowly on an indolent and complicated routine, which contributed in the slackness of its development and implementing of projects. At the time I was responsible for the Integrity Commission in the governorate, and hence was able to pinpoint weaknesses and previous errors.
A comprehensive plan has been devised to put things in the right perspective, to amend the errors in important sectors related to Maysan's economic and projects' standing. I am happy to report today that matters have started to pick up and people are witnessing developments in the services sector. Important infrastructure projects are being implemented today, and we are on the path towards eliminating bureaucracy which strains the work of government departments.
What has happened to the power plant that was set up without taking into account the fuel source needed for its function? Have you solved the problem or is it still standing?
The station is made of four separate power generators, each one with a capacity of 45 megawatts. The 180 megawatt station was financed by the US through direct contracting with the Ministry of Electricity.
After its installation, the station was test run for a short duration of time, and one of the generators broke down.
The Americans say that the low quality fuel used to run the generators is the reason behind the collapse; however, tests in Iraqi labs showed that the Iraqi fuel is reliable.
As a local government, we did not sign an agreement with the US company; hence it is not our responsibility to hold any party accountable. Moreover, this generator will not be important to the governorate which shall be linked to the national power network. 180 megawatts of power is not sufficient for any governorate in Iraq.
You are known to conduct field visits to security checkpoints all around the governorate. How do you find the security situation in Maysan? Are there any loop holes? Are you satisfied with the stability and security situation in the province?
I am happy to report that Maysan is considered one of the most stable governorates in the country. Even when the vicious circle of terrorism was engulfing the country a few years ago, Maysan was stable and secure.
There is a special kind of solidarity among the people of Maysan and the national security forces. People are keen on protecting their governorate to make it a safe location for living, development projects, and investments.
Needless to say, there are petty crimes that take place here and there, similar to all countries around the world, but not on a scale that threatens stability and security in the governorate.
Hospitals in Maysan suffered great shortages in medical supplies and abilities. Has this aspect been amended?
Governor Ali Dawai: The former regime had greatly neglected the governorate as a whole, and Maysan as other governorates around the country suffered badly in this vital sector. We made a point of supplying hospitals, medical care units and clinics with medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, machines, and necessary equipments.
A few weeks ago, a new resonance unit was installed in the General Sadr Hospital, and a new medical scanning unit in Al Zahrawi Hospital.
Four major hospitals are being built as we speak (the Children's Hospital, the Specialised Hospital in Al Kahlae', the 100-bed Hospital, and the Private Surgery Hospital).
The accomplishment stage of all these hospitals is advanced. However, we need physicians, specialists, and medical teams. This is a call for all Iraqi, Arab, and foreign medical doctors and teams to come and fill in the gaps.
The governorate of Maysan will provide them with all the necessary facilities and they will be appointed immediately.
Maithem Al Fartousi, the Chairman of the Health and Environment Committee in the Provincial government, had called upon governments and both local and international humanitarian organisations to contribute in removing land mines that are in profusion on the boarders of Maysan. Has any party responded yet?
The former regime waged a number of wars and as a result, innocent lives were taken. Maysan had its share of the hardship witnessed by the whole country, with the added angle of destruction and land mines because of the geographical location of the province.
Our borders with Iran are dotted with these lethal land mines. We have vast lands that need to be integrated to the agricultural plan for the area, but these land mines are a major obstacle against these plans.
The local government's efforts in removing these mines are significant and important; however, we do need additional efforts and assistance in this field from specialised organisations.
Streets are being paved in Maysan and you are known to make several field visits every day to work sites. What plans do you have to accelerate building the province's infrastructure and services?
Since day one, my plan was to leave my desk and supervise all work locations throughout the province. Sitting behind my desk will not serve the target of developing Maysan.
Our governorate was neglected badly throughout the years by the former regime, and there are major shortages in all fields.
I can say confidently that the people of Maysan have started seeing improvements in the governorate's services.
Sewage projects for instance are being implemented in 90 per cent of the province, all of which had no proper services in this area. Roads are being paved and we look forward to transforming the government into a busy work location.
Previously, development plans were set one year ahead, but our plans are more ambitious, thus, we set the development plan to cover 2012.
In doing that, we held excessive meetings with all local departments. We even asked intellectuals and non-government experts to pitch in with ideas. All sectors were studied thoroughly to find out the most needed projects, which subsequently came first in our plans.
Moreover, investors are needed to back our projects and ideas. It is my assumption that Maysan has kicked off on the right track.
Can we assume that Maysan is one of Iraq's provinces where administrational corruption is minimal?
I cannot say that it is totally free of questionable conduct; however, the Integrity Commission's studies have shown that the governorate is indeed one of the lesser provinces subjected to administrational corruption.
The commission also distributed a questionnaire among Maysan's people asking them about bribes in the governorate's departments and the results were excellent and I was truly proud of the results. However, one cannot completely rule out petty violations.
What about investment opportunities in Maysan?
I would like to extend an invitation through Gulf News to all Iraqi, Arab, Islamic and international companies to invest in Maysan. Investment opportunities exist in the fields of industry, agriculture, oil, and tourism.
These sectors need companies to invest and develop. I am at a liberty to say that Maysan floats over oil, and its vast marshes can turn into important tourism projects.
Maysan also boasts vast agricultural lands that are fertile and can be developed easily. Another aspect for investments in the governorate is the housing sector, as we are in dire need of specialised property development companies to fill in the gap in vertical housing projects.
Huge opportunities
Maysan's Investment authority was established according to Investment law No 13 for 2006. The law was set to ease investment conditions in favour of both investors and the province.
Maysan is an oil rich governorate, perched on a giant lake of oil. Among its important oilfields is Al Halfayah field which contains about 4.5 billion barrels of oil, the Bazargan oilfield, which is estimated at around 4.7 billion barrels, in addition to more than 15 oilfields that have not been exploited yet. These fields include wells that can be developed at a low price of $ 3 to 4 million.
Their production capacity is between 2,000-5,000 oil barrels daily. There are also numerous wells that have not been detected as yet.
Gas is also unexploited and estimated at about 80 million standard cubic feet.
