Erbil Copper & Cable Company for General Trading-Ltd. (Erbil Cable) reports that it has begun operations at its site, where it will produce 8-mm copper wire rod from scrap and copper wire and cable. At its website, the company notes that it is the first copper wire and cable factory in the Kurdistan region.

Per reports posted online at www.kurdistan24.net and gulanmedia.com, Erbil Cable initially became a business entity in 2020, and the project began in 2021. Construction was completed by the end of 2023, and the operations—which include the formation of Erbil Mercury and Cable Company—was inaugurated Oct. 2 by Masrour Barzani, who serves as the prime minister of the Kurdistan Region.

Barzani said that developing the industrial sector strengthens the economic infrastructure of the Kurdistan Region. He promised support for Erbil Cable’s efforts to export its products abroad. “We want the industrial sector to surpass the borders of Kurdistan.”

Per one report, Erbil Cable will provide copper wire and cable to the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and other countries in the zone. It will also provide some support and services to all large industries, contractors and businessmen in the Kurdistan Region. Erbil Cable representative Sadiq Mohammed said that Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, has previously sent copper waste abroad for recycling and subsequent reimport. “Now, the company will undertake this process domestically.”

The project, said to cost more than $80 million, includes six factories that cover an area of ​​175,000 sq m that employs nearly 200 people, 160 of whom are local. Erbil Cable and Erbil Mercury were said to have annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tons, which includes 30,000 metric tons from recycled copper scrap.