Iraqi Contractors Protest in Baghdad Over 18 Trillion Dinars in Unpaid State Debts

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a tense confrontation at the gates of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, the breakdown of Iraq’s financial obligations to its private sector was laid bare on Monday as hundreds of contractors gathered to demand the release of approximately 18 trillion dinars in unpaid entitlements.

The protest represents the boiling point of a fiscal crisis that has suspended payments for nearly two years, paralyzing infrastructure development and leaving approximately 1,100 companies across the nation facing insolvency while the government halts funding for projects that are largely complete.

The gathering highlights a systemic failure in the state’s payment mechanisms, which has left a vast network of construction and service firms shouldering the burden of national development without compensation. According to data circulating among the demonstrators, the financial freeze affects a broad spectrum of the economy, but the impact is particularly acute in the north.

In Kirkuk alone, more than 300 contractors and business owners are currently entangled in the implementation of service projects, yet they report that for a staggering period of one year and eight months, the federal government has not disbursed a single dinar to settle its accounts.

Nawzad Anwar, the Head of the Kirkuk Branch of the Iraqi Contractors Union, characterized the relationship between the state and the private sector as one defined by broken trust.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Anwar expressed the deep frustration of his constituents, noting that this gathering marked the third time they have been forced to demonstrate—having previously rallied before the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Finance—only to be met with what he termed "baseless promises."

He emphasized that the contractors have effectively financed the state’s infrastructure ambitions out of their own pockets, with the majority of the projects in question having reached the 90 percent completion mark or having been fully finalized, despite the government’s failure to adhere to the contractual terms.

The demonstrators presented a litany of completed public works for which they have yet to receive payment, painting a picture of a private sector that has delivered on its obligations even as the state reneged on its own.

These unpaid projects include significant cultural and municipal landmarks, such as the construction of the statue of Mam Jalal and the Peshmerga statue, alongside various public parks.

Furthermore, the financial freeze has impacted essential urban development, specifically the concreting of major residential neighborhoods including Panja Ali, Shoraw, Failaq, Sayada, Uruba, and Sekaniyan, leaving the firms responsible for these civic improvements in a precarious financial position.

Beyond the economic damage, the suspension of funding has had lethal consequences for the citizenry. One contractor highlighted the grave implications of halting the budget for strategic infrastructure, specifically pointing to the Kirkuk-Tikrit road project.

This vital 62-kilometer artery has become a site of tragedy; the contractor revealed that while the government owes nearly 8 billion dinars for the project, the funds remain undisbursed.

Consequently, the poor condition of the road has contributed to a staggering toll, with 130 citizens having lost their lives in accidents that might have been prevented had the project been fully funded and maintained.

The ire of the protesters was directed sharply at the upper echelons of Iraq’s financial management, with contractors leveling strong criticism against Iraqi Minister of Finance Taif Sami.

The demonstrators took particular issue with the Minister’s directive to halt ongoing projects under the pretext of a lack of funds, a policy they argue is destructive given that many projects are in their final stages.

Halting work at such a critical juncture causes irreversible damage to the infrastructure itself and erodes the capital of the contractors. The collective demand of the gathering was unequivocal: the Iraqi Council of Ministers must urgently issue a decision to disburse the overdue financial entitlements to prevent the total collapse of the contracting sector.