The facility is one of two major fertiliser plants in the south. The second, which is located at Abu Khasib near the port of Abu Fulus, was destroyed during the 1991 Gulf war. It had installed capacity to produce 475,000 t/y of urea and 290,000 t/y of ammonia and now requires an estimated $60 million revamp. Both plants were built by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The restart of the Zubair plant is an encouraging sign in the programme to revitalise the country's dilapidated industrial sector. Basra, where most of the country's heavy industries and petrochemicals facilities are located, has vast potential for development. 'Initially the plan was to turn Zubair into Iraq's equivalent to Jubail in Saudi Arabia but Saddam turned the area into a militarised zone,' says Salah al-Shaikly, deputy for reconstruction and development, Basra Governerate.

Investors are understood to be looking at various prospects in the area. These include restarting the Basra steel plant, which although badly looted, has installed capacity to produce 400,000 t/y of reinforced bar (rebar), and investing in the petrochemicals plant at Zubair.