Kurdistan's Halabja auctions off vanity license plates to fund projects

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The local government of the Kurdistan Region’s Halabja province on Monday held an event to auction off vanity license plates for numbers one through nine.

License plates in the Kurdistan Region only have numbers as their identifier, and vehicle owners are obligated to purchase one for their automobiles. While prices tend to be stable for generic plates, unique ones or those with smaller numbers tend to cost more.

The Ministry of Interior has estimated that registration plate number “one” would sell for one billion dinars, which is about USD 840,000. The rest, from two to nine, are expected to reach close to the equivalent of USD 500,000 per piece.

The governor of Halabja previously called on local business owners and wealthy individuals to participate in the auction, saying the proceeds would be used to fund, among other goals, infrastructure projects in the province.

The ministry has said those wishing to participate in the auction are to pay no less than 20 percent of the estimated price of one plate as a deposit.

Halabja Governor Azad Tawfiq reaffirmed in a speech at the opening of the event that the proceeds would be invested “in reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure, in addition to helping the needy and the families of martyrs.”

Tawfiq thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq for facilitating the event.

Halabja traffic police director Brigadier Hassan Abdullah told Kurdistan 24 the auction is under the supervision of a committee headed by governor Tawfiq, and representatives of the KRG Ministry of Interior, Halabja Traffic Directorate, and Halabja Treasury Directorate.

Halabja is one of four provinces in the Kurdistan Region and one of 19 in Iraq.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany