Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Iraq broke ground on a $1 billion project to revive a key fertilizer plant in Beiji, northern Saladin province, nearly a decade after it was destroyed during the ISIS occupation.

The nitrogen fertilizer facility—part of the State Company of Fertilizer Industry/Northern Area—was 95% damaged during ISIS’s takeover of Beiji in 2014, according to Industry and Minerals Minister Khaled Battal al-Najm.

“We are restoring this industrial pillar with a new vision and a budget exceeding one billion dollars,” Najm said at a groundbreaking ceremony. “This project, expected to produce more than 600,000 tonnes of fertilizer annually, will support farmers and cut reliance on costly imported fertilizers.”

Najm urged the partner company to immediately take over the site and begin work according to the terms of the partnership contract.

The launch follows months of negotiations with private-sector partners and mirrors a similar project initiated in March in Abu al-Khaseeb, Basra province.