Minister: KRG needs $1.4 billion to finish strategic road, housing projects

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) minister on Friday revealed to what extent the 2014 financial crisis had adversely affected the work of the ministry.

In a statement on the official governmental website, Darbaz Kosrat Rasool the Minister of Housing and Construction stated that the extensive lack of budget has delayed all the projects.

"Only 56 main projects, out of 218, were completed", he added, stating that the work on other projects is very slow due to the financial crisis. 

He also estimated that the costs for roadwork in the Kurdistan Region would reach five billion USD, stating that 97 strategic road and housing projects require 1.4 billion USD to be completed.

Rasool added that based on the ministry’s plan, all the highways and main roads between the Kurdistan Region cities should have been finished by 2018, but due to lack of the budget most of the projects will be postponed.

The KRG Minister explained that the Iraqi government has not provided any financial support to the Kurdistan Region from the foreign loans given to Iraq for building and renovating roads, stating that KRG efforts will continue to provide enough funding to complete the unfinished road projects across the Kurdistan Region.

Editing by Ava Homa