Three major cable manufacturing factories in the Kurdistan Region say they are capable of fully meeting local demand but complain that the Ministry of Electricity continues to prioritize imported Turkish products over domestic production.

Local Factories Say They Are Being Excluded Despite Meeting Standards

Jabar Ali, owner of the Berlin Factory in Arbat, stated that although the factory is included on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Electricity’s vendor list and has passed all required quality inspections, the ministry does not purchase cables from them.

According to Ali, ministry engineers themselves have indicated that the factory’s products outperform imported Turkish cables in both price and quality.

The Kurdistan Region currently has three cable manufacturing plants, two located in Sulaymaniyah and one in Erbil.

Ali added that the factories operate with machinery imported from Germany and have also established a cable reel manufacturing facility.

According to him, these factories have the capacity to supply the full electrical cable needs of both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Federal Contracts, Expansion Plans, and Production Standards

Unlike the regional Ministry of Electricity, the Iraqi Federal Government has signed a contract worth 6 billion Iraqi dinars with these factories to purchase locally produced cables.

Within the Kurdistan Region, the private sector also relies heavily on these factories to carry out projects.

For production, copper is collected and smelted locally in the Kurdistan Region, while additional quantities are imported. The copper reaches a purity level of 99.9% in accordance with international standards.

The factories also plan to begin manufacturing high-tension (high-voltage) cables in the future, a move they say would eliminate Iraq’s dependence on imported electrical cables.

No Response from the Ministry of Electricity

Regarding the continued purchase of imported cables and the lack of procurement from local factories, Channel8 contacted officials at the KRG Ministry of Electricity several times but received no clarification.