Bloom Properties, an Abu Dhabi-based developer, is in talks with the government of Iraq to build a multibillion-dollar property development in Karbala.

Karbala is one of the holiest cities for Shiite Muslims and it drew two million pilgrims to the Imam Hussein and Hadrat Abbas shrines last year.

Bloom’s proposed investment would be the latest in a series of major developments launched over the past few years by UAE firms in Iraq to take advantage of the country’s economic growth after years of war and civil strife.

The National