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Viewing cable 09BASRAH41, BASRA: TWO AMERICAN FIRMS TO HELP BUILD MASSIVE "SPORTS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09BASRAH41 2009-07-06 13:03 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY REO Basrah
VZCZCXRO6683
RR RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHBC #0041/01 1871303
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061303Z JUL 09
FM REO BASRAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0893
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0471
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBC/REO BASRAH 0931
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000041 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV PGOV SOCI ELAB KPAO SCUL IZ
SUBJECT: BASRA: TWO AMERICAN FIRMS TO HELP BUILD MASSIVE "SPORTS 
CITY" COMPLEX 
 
BASRAH 00000041  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1. (U) Summary:  According to local officials and media reports, 
the Government of Iraq (GOI) has selected two U.S. firms to 
design and provide engineering services for a massive new sports 
complex in Basra.  The site is planned to be completed in 
preparation for the Basra-hosted 2013 Gulf Cup, an Olympic-style 
soccer competition among Arab Gulf states.  U.S.-based 360 
Architecture and Newport Global Project Management have formed a 
joint venture with Abdullah Al-Jiburi Contracting Company, one 
of Iraq's largest contractors, to build the project.  The first 
phase, to cost around $580 million, includes a 60,000-seat 
stadium and 10,000-seat practice facility and four practice 
fields.  A second phase, to start after the Gulf Cup, calls for 
midsize arenas for basketball, volleyball and gymnastics, as 
well as athletic housing, restaurants, and a retail space, which 
could push the total cost to $1 billion.  Iraq's Ministry of 
Youth and Sport is administering the project, with 
groundbreaking set for mid-July.  Despite the GOI's current 
budgetary pressure, officials indicate that the deal will go 
forward and the money is allocated.  If the project moves 
forward, it could help unify a soccer loving nation with a 
resurgent national team, infuse hundreds of millions of dollars 
into the local economy, and provide a substantial amount of much 
needed local employment.  End summary. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Preparing to host the 2013 Gulf Coast 
------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) A driving force for the project - and one that might 
encourage timely completion -  is the fact that Basra will host 
the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations (also known as Khaleeji) soccer 
tournament.   Local officials told PRT EconOff that the stadium 
must be completed by around March 2012, to prepare for the 
event.  Held every two years, the tournament includes the eight 
Arab nations in the Persian Gulf (Gulf of Arabia) region: Iraq, 
Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain. 
 
------------------------ 
A "mini Olympic village" 
------------------------ 
 
3. (SBU) The project's $580 million first phase includes a 
60,000-65,000 seat stadium, a smaller 25,000-seat facility, four 
5,000-seat soccer fields, athlete housing, and 10,000 parking 
spaces.  A second phase, to include midsize arenas for 
basketball, volleyball and gymnastics; restaurants, a premier 
hotel, retail space; and healthcare, media, cultural and 
administrative facilities, could push the price tag to $1 
billion.  According to Ihsan Abdul Jabbar of the Basra 
Investment Commission, it will be sort of a "mini Olympic 
village," the largest specialized sports city Iraq has ever had, 
and the best such sports complex in the Middle East. 
 
4. (SBU) Abdul Jabbar said that the GOI had set aside some 360 
acres on a clear site on the outskirts of Basra city, close to 
the nearby suburb of Az Zubayr.  He also said that a second 
tranche of land, of some 240 acres, has been set aside for 
future strictly commercial development of hotels, restaurants 
and shops.  According to former Governor Wa'eli, who was deeply 
involved with the tender, the site's location, relatively close 
to the Iraq-Kuwait border, will make it easier for Gulf 
neighbors to travel to Basra.  Local contacts often recall a 
not-so-distant past (1970s-1980s) when Basra, Iraq's second 
city, was a popular resort and "fun city" not unlike Dubai 
today, and express the hope that the city might regain such a 
status. 
 
--------------- 
Bidding process 
--------------- 
 
5. (U) According to press reports, the idea for such a complex 
began in 2007, at the last Gulf Cup, held in Abu Dhabi.  The 
idea of Basra hosting the 2013 tournament was proposed, and the 
idea of Iraq regaining as it were, its position among it Arabian 
Gulf neighbors, was positively received, and the proposal was 
approved. 
 
6. (SBU) These same sources indicate that some 50 companies 
initially expressed interest in competing to design and build 
the multiple-venue complex.  By early 2009, the GOI had narrowed 
the list to seven finalists, from the United States, United 
Kingdom, China, France, Kuwait, Russia and Turkey.  (According 
to Ihsan Jabbar, the Ministry of Youth and Sports pressed 
evaluators to choose the Turkish company.)  A top-level 
committee headed by the Youth and Sports Minister and a group of 
Ministry experts, university professors, sports specialists, and 
heritage experts made the final decision.  360 Architecture and 
Newport Global Project Management (NGPM) formed a joint venture 
 
BASRAH 00000041  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
with Abdullah Al-Jiburi Contracting Company, Iraq's largest 
general contractor.  According to Abdul Jabbar, Al-Jiburi is a 
billionaire Iraqi national who lives mostly in Jordan and Abu 
Dhabi.  Construction, to be completed in 32 months, will also 
include the rehabilitation of the old Basra stadium.  Design and 
engineering will be done by 360 Architecture and NGPM, 
respectively, and construction by Al-Jiburi and Iraqi workers. 
Ihsan Jabbar said that former Governor Wa'eli said that U.S. 
companies "do better work" than Turkish or Iraq companies, and 
was impressed by 360 Architecture.  He was also intrigued by the 
notion of reconciling Iraq again with its neighbors through 
hosting the Gulf Cup. 
 
----------------------------- 
A central government priority 
----------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) Despite the decline in oil revenue and a squeezing of 
GOI finances, local officials have told PRT EconOffs that the 
deal will go forward and the money is assured.   According to 
Basra Central Bank branch president Zuhair Ali Akbair and 
regional Iraqi Trade Bank president Dawood Sekran Hassan, the 
project is "100 percent GOI financed," under a "special Council 
of Ministers" budget allocation via the Ministry of Youth and 
Sports.  Ihsan Jabbar said that this project had been made a 
priority by PM Maliki and former Governor Wa'eli. 
 
8. (SBU) The site is also not far from one of Basra's more 
notorious slums, Hyanniyah, seen by some as a potential Sadrist 
breeding ground for violence.  GOI and local officials also 
expect that the complex, projected to employ some 1200 people of 
all skills levels, will help with the chronic high unemployment, 
particularly among the at-risk young male population. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
While the usual questions - security, financing - linger 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
9. (SBU) GOI officials have so far expressed unqualified 
confidence that the project can and will go forward.  While we 
hope this is true, concerns linger.  In the current relatively 
low oil price climate and squeezed GOI finances, it is fair to 
ask just how much of the $580 million to one billion dollar 
price tag the GOI will be able to come up with.  (According to 
press reports, the joint venture contract terms call for a 20 
percent upfront from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.)  Another 
critical factor determining the projects' success will be the 
security situation. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
10. (SBU) If the project goes forward, it could be one more 
small but important sign of progress.  Aside from infusing 
hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, the 
project could also employ just the kind of people -- poor, young 
and male -- that need to be productively employed and kept out 
of trouble.  More broadly, "Sports City" might help Iraq remain 
a sense of "normalcy" among its neighbors.  Perhaps most 
importantly however, soccer is one of the few things the unite 
Iraqis - Shia, Sunni, Kurd or Christian, and form north to south. 
NALAND