- Title: Transforming a Basra oil installation into an ambitious tourist resort
- Date: 18th July 2017
- Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) AERIAL FOOTAGE OF OIL INSTALLATIONS AND LOADING TERMINAL OF AL-MUFTIYA OIL STATION USED FOR DISTRIBUTION OF OIL PRODUCTS (MUTE) AERIAL FOOTAGE OF CRANES AND METAL FROM DISMANTLED INSTALLATIONS (MUTE) AERIAL VIEW OF DISMANTLED SHEETS OF METAL AND PIPELINES (MUTE) NETWORK OF PIPELINES CRANE AT WORK AND HEAPS OF DISMANTLED METAL / LARGE SIGN READING (Arabic): 'MINISTRY OF OIL, HEAVY ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT STATE COMPANY / AL-MUFTIYA RESORT PROJECT' RUSTED PIPELINES IN SHATT-AL-ARAB WATERWAY RUSTED PIPELINES OVER WATER WORKERS DISMANTLING PARTS OF OIL INSTALLATIONS WORKER USING A BLOW TORCH TO DISMANTLE METAL PARTS WORKERS GATHERED NEAR LARGE METAL CANISTERS ON GROUND CRANE MOVING SHEET OF METAL FROM A PILE OF DISMANTLED PARTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SOUTH OIL COMPANY ENGINEER AND HEAD OF AL-MUFTIYA RESORT PROJECT, BASHAR MOHAMMED JAWAD, SAYING: "It is an oil product site located in the centre of the city of Basra surrounded on all sides by residential neighbourhoods and overlooking Shatt-al-Arab waterways. Taking into consideration that all other oil sites are situated on the outskirts of the city, the minister has ordered that the site be moved to another location near oil installations or oil companies and the current site be turned into a tourist resort to serve the people of Basra." HEAPS OF METAL WORKERS AND CRANE LIFTING METAL WORKER USING A BLOW TORCH TO DISMANTLE METAL PARTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SOUTH OIL COMPANY ENGINEER AND HEAD OF AL-MUFTIYA RESORT PROJECT, BASHAR MOHAMMED JAWAD, SAYING: "Work has already started on the first stage of Al-Muftiya resort project. The first stage of work includes removing oil installations from the site represented by 37 oil storage depots of different capacities that range from 16,000 cubic metres down to 5000 cubic metres in addition to 6000 metres of pipeline. Work is now in the last stages and we will start preparing for the coming stage, which is the investment stage, which will include preparation of green areas and the digging of a river course." WORKERS / CRANE LOWERING SHEET OF METAL WORKERS NEAR DISMANTLED SHEETS OF METAL WORKER USING A BLOWTORCH TO DISMANTLE METAL SHEET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROJECT DESIGNER AND ENGINEER, TAHA FARAZDAQ AL-HILLO, SAYING: "The first area of the project to be finished will be the coastal area towards Shatt-al-Arab waterway of a total area of 80 a total where chalets, tourist facilities including restaurants, beaches will be constructed. The South Oil Company will also dig a river inside the site to give the area the look of a peninsula." VARIOUS OF CRANE MOVING LARGE METAL BEAM RUSTED PIPES OVER SHATT-AL-ARAB WATERWAY
- Embargoed: 1st August 2017 13:26
- Keywords: Iraq tourist resort Basra oil station Basra resort Venice of the Middle East
- Location: BASRA, IRAQ
- City: BASRA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0016Q8T7PX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Busy dismantling the metal sheets of huge oil storage depots and a large network of pipelines, workers at Iraq's South Oil Company are turning Basra's oldest oil distribution station into a recreational resort.
Located on the Shatt-al-Arab River separating Iraq and Iran, the al-Muftiya tourist resort occupies an area of 62.5 hectares (154.4 acres) with 520 metres located along the river.
The resort will house a number of chalets, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, high-end restaurants, an amusement park, a zoo and an aquarium.
Work on the resort is expected to be completed in 2018.
According to oil officials, the facilities of 1950s-built al-Muftiya station for the distribution of oil products were out of date.
This coupled with damage inflicted on the site during successive wars and the environmental threat it posed to neighbouring residential areas led to the oil ministry's decision to repurpose the site.
"It is an oil product site located in the centre of the city of Basra surrounded on all sides by residential neighbourhoods and overlooking Shatt-al-Arab waterways. Taking into consideration that all other oil sites are situated on the outskirts of the city, the minister has ordered that the site be moved to another location near oil installations or oil companies and the current site be turned into a tourist resort to serve the people of Basra" engineer and head of the al-Muftiya resort project, Bashar Mohammed Jawad, said.
According to Jawad, the project will be put out to tender to foreign investors after the oil installations have been dismantled and green areas prepared.
"The first stage of work includes removing oil installations from the site represented by 37 oil storage depots of different capacities that range from 16,000 cubic metres down to 5000 cubic metres in addition to 6000 metres of pipeline. Work is now in the last stages and we will start preparing for the coming stage, which is the investment stage, which will include preparation of green areas and the digging of a river course," said Jawad.
According to the project engineer the resort will have a number of theme parks, an aquarium, in addition to chalets, floating restaurants, sandy beaches, a large mall and a number of fast-food outlets. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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