Iraq expects private investment in its economy to triple to $30 billion this year as energy, agriculture and housing projects accelerate now that the country has formed a new government, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Investment exceeded $10 billion last year, Salar Mohammed Ameen, vice chairman of the National Investment Commission, told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Istanbul.

Some $4 billion of investment will be in Iraq's electricity sector, Ameen said.-Reuters