Iraq intends to restart a number of stalled projects in 2023 after a sharp rise in crude prices boosted the country’s revenue, the official Alsabah daily said on Thursday. 

The paper said a report issued by the Planning Ministry on Wednesday estimated there were nearly 1,171 stalled projects at the end of 2022. 

The report said those projects have faltered over the past years due to red tape, malpractices by contracts and other reasons, adding that they have caused massive losses to the domestic economy. 

According to the paper, a committee formed by the Ministry to tackle stalled projects met on Wednesday and discussed measures to revive some of them in 2023. 

“The committee decided to take measures to complete some of the stalled projects this year…priority will be given to projects comprising hospitals, schools, sewage networks, water and electricity,” the report said. 

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com