Persistent internal hostilities have allied with mismanagement to halt nearly 6,225 projects in Iraq over the past years with a combined value of around 130 trillion Iraqi dinars ($90 billion), an Iraqi official was reported on Wednesday as saying. 

Most of the projects were launched after 2013 but came to a standstill due to wars, mismanagement in the public sector and lack of funds, said Kadhim Al-Sahlani, Chairman of Secretariat of the Higher Committee for inter-Governorate Coordination. 

“There are now around 6,225 stalled projects in Iraq...most of them have not reached an execution rate of 80 percent while nearly 750 projects have remained below 20 percent execution,” Sahlani told the official Iraq Alsabah newspaper. 

“Almost all those projects have been included in budgets since 2013 but have been stalled due to the war and cash shortages as a large part of the budget allocations were diverted to funding the war...mismanagement and other factors have also led to a state of anarchy in project execution in most governorates.” 

Sahlani said the government is devising a plan to restart those projects and that priority would be given to the “strategic ones.” 

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.

© ZAWYA 2021