IACCI Background

Project Management

IACCI has extensive experience in its last four years of operations in a volatile Iraq. Project management has included the management of large-scale training programs, grant programs,arranging and organizing logistics for major events involving numerous different parties - private sector and government over a geographic scope spanning the entire country, extensive training both educational and vocations, international trade and development, and renovation and facility building. One excellent example was the Kurdistan DBX international trade show and conference held in Erbil, Iraq in 2005, and in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq in 2006. At both events, there were approximately 94,000 people in attendance over a three day period who visited over 600 exhibitors. Challenges involved in the Kurdistan DBX Trade Show and Conference were numerous.

IACCI was able to take into consideration and find solutions for:

1. Provision of the venue, when there was no suitable venue to be found in either Erbil or Sulaimaniyah,

2. Provision of adequate suitable accommodations, when the number of people that the hosting city can accommodate is extremely limited (not more than 300 rooms at 4-star level),

3. Transportation of international attendees coming from outside of Iraq to allow them to reach the venue, (this is in a situation where the international airport had not been accredited until just weeks before the event was scheduled to take place), and

4. Security provision for some 5000 participants located in multiple venues throughout the host city, when all of the country was experiencing random attacks of terrorist insurgents.  IACCI’s result for the above lay in effective organization and problem solving with multiple parties involved in the production of the event.

The following are some examples of the ability of the Chamber on organizing and problem solving:

• The exhibition hall for the event was constructed under direct supervision of IACCI Executive Vice President and engineer, Yousif Al-Hardan in a record time of two months, involving importation of materials from neighboring Turkey and organization of over 100 laborers.

• In coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government, IACCI was able to secure the use of over 500 rooms for the trade show participants in the brand new housing complex constructed for use of the Salahaddin University for its students.

• With regards to transportation, IACCI was able to negotiate with Kurdistan Regional Airlines to change their flight schedules to accommodate direct flights from Dubai to Erbil and later Sulaimaniyah that coincided with the opening dates of the event.

• Finally, regarding security, IACCI coordinated with the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that intense security measures were in place at each of the venues for the event, including sniffing-dogs for explosives and modern electronic detection equipment. The Kurdistan Peshmerga army was mobilized to protect the cities of Erbil and later Sulaimaniyah, entrance points into the governate, roadways, and all venues.

This was a challenging accomplishment yet characterizes IACCI’s capacity to coordinate the diversity of team players needed to build such a huge event and included vocational training of workers.

Trade event projects continue with upcoming events for Fall of 2007 and Spring of 2008. IACCI is has constructed a brand new facility in Sulaimaniyah for the 2nd Annual Kurdistan DBX Trade Show which occurred there in November of 2006. The project involved mobilization of construction firms and coordination with the Sulaimaniyah Chamber of Commerce and Regional Government. In addition to the Kurdistan show, IACCI is beginning preparations for the Destination Baghdad Expo (DBX) in the Baghdad International Airport for April of 2008, in cooperation with the Multi-National Corps of the US Military, the Iraqi Airways, and Iraqi Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Transportation. Preparations for this event involve establishing hotel accommodations and expo and conference facilities which is currently underway.

Download Complete IACCI Capacity Statement (PDF)