ERBIL () - Nine new factories with a combined investment of 1.5 trillion dinars are set to open in Zakho under the Independent Administration's industrial master plan, a project officials say will create jobs for nearly 1,000 young people in the border city.
Engineer Abdulrahman Adib, Director of Industrial Development for Zakho, told, on Wednesday, that the factories are being established as part of the Zakho Independent Administration's broader master plan and its border-zone development project. He said the initiative forms part of the record of the Kurdistan Regional Government's ninth cabinet in prioritizing industry and boosting domestic production.
Adib said the nine facilities will specialize in a range of products, including sandwich panels, potato chips, the assembly and manufacturing of electrical appliances, the assembly of snow-clearing equipment, and factories producing macaroni and vermicelli, aluminum products, chocolate, and cleaning supplies.
He said the project will bring close to 1,000 young people and university graduates in Zakho into employment.
Adib put the total capital investment for the factories at 1.5 trillion dinars. He said that once completed, the projects will move Zakho's industrial development plan into a new phase, cutting reliance on dozens of imported foreign products and replacing them with goods manufactured locally for domestic markets.
The Zakho Independent Administration is one of the Kurdistan Region's key strategic and commercial areas, largely due to the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, a primary gateway for trade with Türkiye and European countries. Since the Kurdistan Regional Government's decision to grant Zakho independent administrative status, the city has seen a marked revival across multiple sectors, particularly investment.
As part of the ninth cabinet's agenda, the KRG has been working to diversify its economic base and reduce dependence on oil revenue, with industry and agriculture serving as the two central pillars of that strategy. Officials say that building industrial zones and licensing local factories does more than meet domestic demand and cut imports — it also represents a significant step toward addressing unemployment and creating opportunities for young people and university graduates across the region.
