“Invaluable Steps” to Cement Ties with Iraq

Scion Industrial Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi highlighted the importance of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries and said Tehran has taken major strides to strengthen ties with Baghdad.

“We are trying to boost our relations with Iraq in all areas,” Masjedi said, addressing an appreciation ceremony for the outgoing Iranian consuls in the Iraqi cities of Sulaymaniyah and Karbala.

“The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad, as well as the affiliated organizations and consulates and other governmental agencies of Iran in Iraq, have taken invaluable strides and actions at various political, economic and security levels to strengthen relations between the two countries in recent years,” the diplomat noted.

Masjedi further pointed to historical, cultural and ideological commonalities of the two countries and said closer ties in all fields are in line with the interests of both Iran and Iraq.

Iran and Iraq enjoy cordial political, security and cultural ties but due to some internal and regional problems including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) terrorism in Iraq, they have not been able to increase their trade volume.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently paid an official visit to Iraq to boost ties with the Arab country in the sanctions era.

US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans in March to extend a 90-day waiver for the second time to let Iraq continue energy imports from Iran.

Source:https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/06/07/invaluable-steps-to-cement-ties-with-iraq/

Investment Opportunities: 7 Solar Energy Projects

Scion Industrial Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

The Ministry of Electricity is please to invite local, regional and international Independent Power Producers (IPP) to submit Expressions of interest (EOI) to embark into a proposed reverse auctioning round for SEVEN (7) Green field solar PV IPP projects (each a “project”) with a potential combined capacity of 755MWp.

A project involves the design, finance, construction operation and maintenance of a utility scale solar power project to the Ministry on a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis. A dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) shall be established to undertake the construction and operation of each project.

The Ministry, in its commercial capacity as a grid operator, will connect the SPV to the Iraqi transmission grid under a Transmission Connection Contract (TCC) and, in its capacity as owner of the land, will lease the land to the SPV under a Land Lease Contract (LLC). Also, the Ministry will purchase produced electricity from the SPV under the terms of the power purchase Contract (PPC).

The Ministry expects these project(s) to employ around 1300 people in the Republic of Iraq and supply more than 250,000 households with critically needed electricity supply.

The following projects are available :

Sawa-1 Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 30 MWp to be located in Muthana Province,
Sawa-2 Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 50 MWp to be located in Muthana Province,
Khidhir Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 50 MWp to be located in Muthana Province,
Iskanariya Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 225 MWp to be located in Babil Province,
Jissan Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 50 MWp to be located in Wassit Province,
Karbala Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 300 MWp to be located in Karbala Province,
Al-Diwania Solar PV IPP with a capacity of 50 MWp to be located in Diwania Province,
The above project(s) may, at the Ministry’s discretion, be tendered on a standalone basis or grouped. For the proposed tender, the Ministry will conduct a transparent, fair and competitive reverse auctioning process to select a developer or a consortium for a single or a group of project(s).

Parties interested in participating (the “respondent”) in the process must fulfill the following pre- requisites for short listing:

Successful, proven and verifiable technical and financial capability and experience of no less than 10 years in developing renewable energy IPP Project(s) of no capacity less than 50 MW on an individual and not collective project basis, particularly utility scale solar PV projects.
An average annual turnover of more than US$ 10 Million for the last three years solely from revenues obtained via renewable energy projects development and operatorship, preferable majorly from solar PV projects.
Previously awarded projects should have been tendered according to the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model on similar auctions regionally or globally.
The respondent must have registered and licensed official regional and international offices.
The respondent must demonstrate previous initiative towards social responsibility and willingness to contribute to capacity building, to integrate local content, and to support the nascent renewable energy manufacturing and service sectors in the republic of Iraq.
The respondent must have never been barred by the Government of the Republic of Iraq, or any entity controlled or regulated by them, from participating in any project or conducting work of any form in the Republic of Iraq, including the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Also this applies to any other government, or any entity controlled or regulated by any other government.
Respondents that fulfill the requirements above shall express their interest to participate in the tender process by 29 April.2019 and the finnnal time to receive the (IPP) documentation 60 days from the announced date.

The number call of is MOE- HQ5/ 2019 An package (the “package”) must be sent in electronic copy format (a single PDF file) from an official business email address to 32_contracts@moelc.gov.iq

The requirements set herein;

Name of the respondent
Name and contact details (Postal address, telephone number, and email address) for the appropriate point of contact (Point of Contact) to whom future correspondence may be sent; and
Where the respondent is considering potential consortium partners, an indication of such intention and details of potential consortium partners (to the extent it is known).
The Ministry will not consider any proposals or packages submitted by mail, in person, or via liaison.

The following submission of the EOI, and after passing this stage this stage the respondent will bay the documentation (RFQ). The RFQ will include further information, including a description of the project(s), an outline of the tender process and eligibility criteria for pre- qualification.

The announcement shall not constitute in any way a commitment by the Ministry to proceed with the next stage, hold the proposed reverse auction, announce the tender, award any project or comply with the information provided herein. The Ministry retains the right to amend the scopes of the project(s), modify, extend, cancel or suspend the project(s), at any time for any reason without clarification or any liabilities for the Ministry or any other entity of the Government of the republic of Iraq.

This announcement shall be considered a complementary and integral part of the Project(s) Documentation.

Source:https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/05/09/investment-opportunities-7-solar-energy-projects/

Iraq commits to further Advancing the Digital Economy

scion Industrial Engineering

Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon have committed to digitally transform their countries, discussing their roadmaps to support the Mashreq region’s integration into the rapidly evolving global digital economy.

The commitments came on the first day of the landmark, high-level forum on Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Development in Mashreq, which was hosted by the Government of Jordan and organized jointly with the World Bank Group.

The three governments had identified the challenges and solutions that would allow Mashreq countries to realize more gains to their economies and societies. Digitalization is shaping the present and future of economic activities as it brings about higher productivity, efficiencies and quicker inclusion of lagging economic and social groups, such as women and youth.

Mobile and digital solutions are contributing to facilitating greater financial inclusion. E-commerce and other digital applications are being leveraged to promote entrepreneurship, including the empowerment of women as entrepreneurs, and digital solutions are being sought to improve access to learning resources in an easier and less expensive way.

The Mobile Gender Report for 2018 lists a gender gap in mobile ownership among women in the region which can reach up to 20%. while this gap is only 2% in countries like Egypt or Turkey. Bringing this gap to less than 4% everywhere in the Mashreq would bring income opportunities for women in the region. Broadband access is estimated to increase employment among married women by as much as 4% in high income economies.

Broadly speaking, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon face similar obstacles to their quest to transform Mashreq into a regional hub for IT and Business Process Outsourcing. Policymakers, international and regional businesses, startups and investors all convened at the King Hussein Business Park to enrich the discussion with their expertise and experience on how to push this agenda forward.

The digital roadmaps were presented by the three ministers holding the Information Technology portfolio in their respective countries. World Bank Group committed to supporting these countries achieve their goals with specific focus on increasing broadband access, establishing cashless payment systems and bridging the gender gap in mobile usage.

Iraq

The Government of Iraq (GOI) is committed to further advancing the digital economy and aims to ensure affordable access to high speed internet, by doubling access to broadband to 54% in 2021 and 90% by 2030, achieving 100% broadband network coverage, establishing a conducive regulatory and policy framework for digital payments, developing interoperable digital payments infrastructure, and striving towards 100% financial access. The GOI is also committed to delivering digital government services and ensuring highest standards of cybersecurity and data privacy to boost consumer trust. The GOI is also keen to ensure that education and training programs meet current and future job market skills needs.

Jordan

The Government of Jordan (GOJ) is committed to advancing the digital economy as strategic growth sector for the Kingdom. On digital infrastructure, the GOJ commits to further developing access to internet broadband to reach 100% penetration rate by 2021. As part of that, the GOJ is opening the National Broadband Network (7,000 kilometers of fiber) for Public Private Partnership, allowing affordable fiber broadband to 1.3 million households around Jordan. On digital payments, the GOJ commits to increasing country-level cashless payments from 33 to 50% by 2020 and to digitizing 80% of government to citizens payments by 2021. On developing digital skills, the GOJ will launch a national skills development initiative to train 35,000 people on the 21st century skills and mainstreaming digital skills in public schools to train 300 thousands by 2022. To enable a friendly business environment for entrepreneurs, the GOJ is committed to launching a regulatory reform process in 2019, following a participatory approach with ecosystem representatives. To complete automation of Government services, the GOJ commits to automate key services by 2021. Building on the recent transformations of the Ministry of ICT to Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, the GOJ will launch its digital transformation action plan in partnership with the ecosystem by end of 2019.

Lebanon

The Government of Lebanon (GOL) is committed to building a Digital Nation and to transform Lebanon into a regional technology and innovation hub. The GOL is in the process of finalizing its digital transformation plan and aims to double the knowledge economy’s contribution to GDP and double the employment in this sector by 2025. To achieve this, the GOL plans to: (i) reach 100% broadband penetration rate by end of 2021; (ii) develop and execute the digital transformation of the public sector and offer citizens a fully digitized journey across all government services, with 500,000 users signed up to the government digital platform by end of 2021; (iii) provide a supportive regulatory framework to help grow the Fintech industry and facilitate digital payments, launch a new national digital currency by the end of 2020, and launch an Electronic Trading Platform (ETP) to improve financing for private sector activities in 2020; (iv) leverage its pool of skilled and entrepreneurial talent in Lebanon and abroad to build a digital economy focused on innovation and private initiative, increase the number of start-ups fivefold and double yearly venture capital funding by 2025; and (v) address the existing skills gap by preparing the youth for the global, digital jobs of the future through launching a national training academy by 2021.

The World Bank commits to support Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in achieving their visions and plans for digital transformation by providing the necessary resources and instruments. The World Bank will work closely with the Governments, private sector, academia and civil society to maximize the impact of digitization and reap the digital dividends for their societies. This support will include: (i) pursuing plans to ensure affordable access to high-speed internet and facilitate investment in broadband; (ii) delivering digital government services and improving access to data, while ensuring the highest standards of cybersecurity and data privacy; (iii) developing a modern digital payment infrastructure; (iv) scaling up digital entrepreneurship; and (v) ensuring education and training programs meet current and future skills needs.

Source:https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/07/02/iraq-commits-to-further-advancing-the-digital-economy/

India-Bhutan sign Rs 4,500 crore Mangdechhu Hydro project’s power tariff protocol

scion industrial engineering

Following prime ministerial level bilateral agreement between India and Bhutan, both the countries have finally signed tariff protocol for the output of 720 Megawatt Mangdechhu hydropower project. First yield of this Rs 4,500-crore Bhutan project is set to get into India’s national power pool by May-June this year.

The agreement was signed by Bhutan’s economic affairs secretary, Dasho Yeshi Wangdi and the power secretary of India, Ajay Kumar Bhalla in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu.

Prior to this protocol finalisation, basic tariff structure was agreed upon by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering in December last year.

As per the finalised protocol detail provided by Bhutan Government’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, the starting tariff for a term of 35 years is Ngultrum 4.21 (Eqv. INR 4.21) per unit. That will go up at a rate of 10% every 5 years till Bhutan’s loan for the project is repaid and 5% afterward. Government of ..

Source:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/india-bhutan-sign-rs-4500-crore-mangdechhu-hydro-projects-power-tariff-protocol/articleshow/69053103.cms

Yangon Region to Launch Projects to Ease Traffic in Two Townships

scion Industrial engineering

Traffic congestion is the bane of all commuters in cities around the world, and Yangon is no exception. According to calculations by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), there are roughly 2.8 million commuters in Yangon. About 70,000 of these ride the trains, while very few people take the water buses that run along Yangon River.

The situation can be enough to raise the blood pressure, at times. It has needed attention, and now efforts are under way to curb the congestion.

Yangon Regional Government has launched multi-transport projects in Pazundaung and Kyeemyindaing Townships. To accomplish the goal of reducing traffic snarls and delays, they plan to integrate three different means of transport: trains, cars and ships.

“In order to provide more efficient, effective, and convenient transportation, we will try to integrate road and waterway transport,” U Phyo Min Thein, Chief Minister of Yangon, said. “We are currently doing feasibility studies for these projects, in the hopes of easing traffic congestion.”

Currently, water buses run along the Yangon River, and plans are in the works to expand the service in Ngamoeyeik Creek, following feasibility studies of the projects and their safety. Plans are in the works to dismantle the old bridge.

The regional government chose Kyeemindaing and Pazundaung Townships because they are located at the juncture of road and waterway transport routes. Plans to improve them in both the short and long term are in the works.

Daw Ni Lar Kyaw, Regional Minister for the Ministry of Electricity, said: “Now, we are building jetties along the bank of Ngamoeyeik Creek for ships. Moreover, projects to renovate the circular railway are nearly complete in western areas. We will connect the waterway and railway.”

Source:https://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/yangon-region-launch-projects-ease-traffic-two-townships-0

Digital Economy Association To License Online Shops

The Ministry of Commerce and the Union Federation of Commerce and Industry will be forming a new organization. It will be called the Digital Economy Association, and its purpose will be to handle disputes over products sold online.

Why is this necessary? Online shops are very popular among people who want to start their own businesses, and the number of online shops in Myanmar has increased rapidly in recent years.

Additionally, online shops on Facebook are selling various consumer items, ranging from handicrafts and antiques to electronic products and vehicles. People in Myanmar now seem to accept Facebook as the best platform to reach out to consumers, and to establish a digital presence as a seller.

However, there are cases in which consumer rights have been violated. Furthermore, because the industry is wholly unregulated, some online shops now offer smuggled products with lower prices than when they are sold by official traders and importers, according to an official from the Myanmar Retailers Association.

All of this is nothing but a recipe for trouble, both for buyers who could easily be scammed, and for licensed traders and importers. For these reasons, the government is taking action to draft the E-Commerce Law, which will regulate e-commerce in Myanmar.

An official from the Consumers Protection Department said: “It is better to have a law regulating the industry, in order to protect consumers.”

The new Digital Economy Association will list online shopping businesses, and help them officially register. The ministry is now in talks with other government agencies to register online shopping businesses.

Source:https://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/digital-economy-association-license-online-shops

Capstone Wins Order for Microturbines in Basra

scion Industrial ENgineering Pvt. Ltd.

US-based Capstone Turbine Corporation (Nasdaq: CPST) has announced today that it has secured an order for two C600 Signature Series microturbines to provide 1.2 megawatts (MW) of energy to power a triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration facility in the Basra region of Southern Iraq.

The order also includes Capstone’s new self-cleaning pulse filtration system which will allow the microturbines to endure the remote and sandy conditions with minimal maintenance. The order was secured by Technical Solutions to Industry FZE (TSI), Capstone’s authorized distributor to Iraq and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Fueled by available raw gas, Capstone’s two C600S microturbines will power 100% of the new dehydration facility. The new facility is part of a larger 25-year joint venture between local gas and leading oil producer’s efforts to capture, treat and monetize associated gas currently being flared from three southern Iraq oilfields.

Capstone recently developed a new line of self-cleanable severe environment air filtration systems for its Signature Series line of microturbine products to facilitate its expansion into the oil and gas business in the Middle East as part of its overall double digit revenue growth strategy.

The company announced its intentions to expand its business into the Middle East a couple of years ago and has previously delivered successful projects in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Capstone expects that higher oil prices and the move towards reduced gas flaring will continue to drive demand and should provide a positive backdrop for Capstone’s low emission microturbine solutions.

Darren Jamison, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone, said:

“Flaring is the traditional way to dispose of unwanted gas produced during oil exploration activities, but the long standing practice creates an immense amount of carbon dioxide emissions and adds to climate change.

“In Iraq alone, 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas is flared annually, making it a wasted resource that could instead provide electricity or other benefits to meet the predicted doubling demand by 2030.”

Iraq is one of the world’s biggest energy producers and is set to become the fourth-largest oil-producer by 2030 behind the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia according to the IEA report, Iraq’s Energy Sector: A Roadmap to a Brighter Future 2019.

At the same time, 60-70% of gas produced is being flared due to the lack on infrastructure causing Iraq to import natural gas from the neighboring country of Iran. To improve efficiency and help with shortfalls due to rising electricity demand, the Iraqi government is working with international gas companies to capture and utilize its resources versus flaring.

Jim Crouse, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Capstone, said:

“As pressure for more efficient and environmentally conscious oil and gas production increases, we continue to see an increased demand for microturbines for flare reduction applications.

“Capstone, through its distributor network, is committed to do its part by educating and working with producers and local operators for a more profitable production. Flare reduction applications like this in Basra can have a payback as short as one year which makes it an economic win as well as an environmental win.”

Source:http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/06/05/capstone-wins-order-to-microturbines-in-basra/

“Invaluable Steps” to Cement Ties with Iraq

Scion Industrial Engineering

Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi highlighted the importance of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries and said Tehran has taken major strides to strengthen ties with Baghdad.

“We are trying to boost our relations with Iraq in all areas,” Masjedi said, addressing an appreciation ceremony for the outgoing Iranian consuls in the Iraqi cities of Sulaymaniyah and Karbala.

“The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad, as well as the affiliated organizations and consulates and other governmental agencies of Iran in Iraq, have taken invaluable strides and actions at various political, economic and security levels to strengthen relations between the two countries in recent years,” the diplomat noted.

Masjedi further pointed to historical, cultural and ideological commonalities of the two countries and said closer ties in all fields are in line with the interests of both Iran and Iraq.

Iran and Iraq enjoy cordial political, security and cultural ties but due to some internal and regional problems including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) terrorism in Iraq, they have not been able to increase their trade volume.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently paid an official visit to Iraq to boost ties with the Arab country in the sanctions era.

US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans in March to extend a 90-day waiver for the second time to let Iraq continue energy imports from Iran.

(Source: http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/06/07/invaluable-steps-to-cement-ties-with-iraq/)

Korean SMEs “Go Bankrupt” Due to Sanctions on Iran

Scion Industrial Engineering

The chairman of Iran-South Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce said following last year’s move by the US to renew sanctions against the Islamic Republic, some Korean companies went bankrupt.

Speaking to Tasnim, Hossein Tanhayee pointed to the 70 percent fall in bilateral trade between Iran and South Korea after the re-imposition of the US sanctions and said the reduction of exchanges have been against the will of the Korean companies.

After the anti-Tehran sanctions, major Korean corporations were forced to look at their trade relations with Iran with great consideration, the official said.

Two major banks of the East Asian country had also many problems in their cooperation with the Islamic Republic due to the embargoes, he added,

Tanhayee went on to say that all of these problems led to the decline in Iran-South Korea economic relations, causing the bankruptcy of many so-called SMEs or small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea that had ties with Iran.

Back in February, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha voiced Seoul’s willingness to sustain the age-old relations with Iran regardless of the Western sanctions against Tehran.

Earlier, South Korean Ambassador to Tehran Ryu Jeong-hyun said that despite many European companies leaving Iran under the pressure of the US sanctions, South Korean firms understand the significance of the Iranian market and have chosen to stay.

In response to US sanctions, Iran and its trade partners have been negotiating the reduction of the US dollar’s share in mutual trade.

Russia, Turkey, India, Iraq, Qatar, China, and others have been actively taking steps to switch to national currencies in settlements in order to bypass Washington’s pressure.

Source:http://www.iran-bn.com/2019/04/18/korean-smes-go-bankrupt-due-to-sanctions-on-iran/

Iran Boosting Gas Exports to Iraq

Scion Industrial engineering

An Iranian official said the exports of natural gas to Iraq are growing steadily and are expected to hit 40 million cubic meters a day in summer.

Managing director of the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC) Hassan Montazer Torbati told Tasnim that Iran’s gas exports to Iraq are constantly increasing and nearing a ceiling set on the contract between the two neighbors.

He noted that the exports will be rising as the hot season is looming with a surge in Iraq’s electricity consumption, adding that the daily export is expected to hit 40 million cubic meters.

Baghdad and Basra are the main export destinations of Iranian natural gas, the official added.

On a gas deal with Turkey, Montazer Torbati said Tehran and Ankara are planned to enter negotiations to extend the gas export contract during the last five years of the deal, adding that serious talks to renew the contract will kick off next year.

In June 2017, Iran started to export natural gas to Iraq after years of negotiations and settlement of financial problems.

Tehran and Baghdad had signed a deal on the exports of natural gas from the giant South Pars Gas Field in 2013.

Under the deal, the Iranian gas is delivered to Sadr, Baghdad and al-Mansouryah power plants in Iraq through a 270-kilometer pipeline.

Last month, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said the Arab country’s gas imports from Iran are planned to rise by 13 percent by January 2020.

Source:http://www.iran-bn.com/2019/05/17/iran-boosting-gas-exports-to-iraq/