Private sector, government invest in Soran tourism

SORAN, Kurdistan Region — The government and private sector are investing millions to develop tourism infrastructure in the beautiful mountains and canyons of Erbil’s Soran district. 

A private company is building a resort at Gali Ali Beg waterfall with visitor cabins. “We’ll build cable cars. As there’s a canyon in the area, we’ll also set up rafting,” said project designer Taib Ali. Construction has already begun. 

Work on a resort in Jundyan will begin on August 1 and will include “a cultural city that will depict how our ancestors lived 200 years ago,” said Zana Haji. 

These are two of 21 planned private sector projects in the Soran district with a total cost of 45 billion dinars ($30.8 million) and creating an expected 300 jobs.

The government has also tourism plans for Soran district. “We will use 15% of the budget share from the Ministry of Municipality and Tourism, which amounts to 425 million dinars, to build 12 tourism projects,” said Barzan Mohammed, head of Soran’s tourism directorate.

Currently, the tourism sector in Soran employs 1,200 people and attracts more than 800,000 visitors annually. 


Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed