Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim: The Citizen Alliance is Launching the "Wasit, Province of the Future" Project for It Believes in its Huge Current and Future Potentials

Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Superior Council of Iraq, declared during a public gathering held by the Citizen Alliance 411 in Wasit Governorate, on Thursday, April 11, 2013 that if any justice is to be done to Wasit would be for the province to take its share of its wealth so it can provide its people with the services they need and implement the required strategic projects. Therefore, the Citizen Alliance, he said, is launching the "Wasit, Province of the Future" project for it believes in its huge current and future potentials. "Wasit is the province of the future whether as to its increasing oil production, its produce or the international trading crossing its lands to Iran and from there to the Central Asian Republics". "It is the bridge that connects Iraq to these countries, and it is now the right time for it to take the right course and invest its special advantages", he added, reminding Wasit that they originate from a province endowed with abundant resources and that they are able to offer their children a better future and make their province a role model for the rest of the Iraqi provinces.   
 Setting up an oil company is what the "Wasit, Province of the Future" Project contemplates
His Eminence said the "Wasit, Province of the Future" project has many objectives, including deducting 10% of the oil revenues in the province for 10 years to be used for the budget set aside for the province and setting up the Wasit oil company in the light of the surge in production. "The production in the province will exceed that in some OPEC countries. That's why it is logical to found an oil company in Wasit, invest the other oil fields in the province and increase the overall productivity", he explained. "And an oil refinery with a capacity of 150 barrels will also be built". The project also includes creating a free trade zone at the Iraqi-Iranian borders, designed as per the world standards; building a highway that would run from the Iranian borders and be connected to the Iraqi international highway, as well as a highway linking between Wasit and Maysan province; hiring world engineering firms to make the urban and architectural design of the province and its districts; developing the University of Wasit technically and academically and extending the range of administrative, oil and agricultural majors; providing support for the education and teaching development programs and increasing the number of modern schools. This is in addition to the creation of Said residential city which can contain 100 units, thus ending the housing problem in the province; the launch of the "Island Irrigation" project where 100,000 hectares of the island lands will be cultivated and the swift implementation of the "Wasit Dijla" project for land reclamation. Moreover, the project aims at providing Wasit farmers with easy loans and grants in order to improve the agricultural conditions; developing the villages and the infrastructure of the rural areas; establishing dams and water distribution systems; using modern agricultural machines; reopening the food factories in the province and creating new and developed granaries with high capacity according to the international standards and establishing the "al-Mutanabbi Center for Scientific Research" with international specifications and the "Medical City of Wasit" that can accommodate 100 beds and would be equipped with different modern laboratories.         
Martyr of the Niche Movement is the leader of a project for which precious blood has been shed. And this project will not be left in the hands of mischievous people and opportunists. 
 His Eminence stressed that seeking the future we deserve and we wish for our children should not be hindered for any excuse whatsoever as long as the means are available. He called Wasit to take its decision about pursuing such future and making efforts to reach it, confirming that the Citizen Alliance is running its candidates for the elections of provincial councils and that the Martyr of the Niche movement is fully responsible for their acts. "Whoever earns the trust of Wasit, he will be committed to the provincial project and will work with devotion and fidelity to be at the satisfaction of the citizens of the province”, he stated. “The project of the Martyr of the Niche Movement is the leader of a project for which precious blood has been shed and it will not leave this project in the hands of mischievous people and opportunists”. His Eminence also added that the Martyr of the Niche Movement has a special vision for this nation and would be fighting corruptors without mercy.
 He also said Wasit is in the heart of everyone as it is located in the heart of the cities. “The province has special features: It is marked by strategic location, extended, fertile lands, rivers and streams, abundant resources and most importantly by people, a mix of tribal and civil society, living together as Arabs and Kurds.” According to His Eminence, the province is intellectually and spiritually moderate and is open to others. “It is the land of tribes such as-Sada, Rabia, Zobeid, Shamar, Quraysh, Kaab and others. It is the land of Al Mutanabbi and Sa’id Bin Jubayr.” He noted that the province looks eagerly to the future while maintaining its historical aspect and endeavors to overcome the current obstacles and problems it has been facing. “Moreover, it reaches out to the Middle Euphrates and Southern provinces and avail itself from the generosity of the Euphrates and the Tigris.” His Eminence finally described the province as having been born to be in the middle and to play a major role in the beginnings of the Islamic civilization and a pivotal political one in the history of Iraq, given that it had become for a long period an economic hotspot and had produced several prominent Iraqi scholars.