KRG Report Details Ninth Cabinet Projects and Reforms, 2019-2026

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Kurdistan Region Government's Department of Media and Information has released what it describes as its most comprehensive statistical account of governance under the Ninth Cabinet, presenting seven years of data intended to document the administration's projects, reforms, and development initiatives from 2019 through 2026.

Published under the title A Summary of the 9th Cabinet's Projects in Data (2019-2026), the report compiles hundreds of indicators spanning infrastructure, public administration, energy, education, healthcare, agriculture, digital government, investment, and environmental policy.

According to the Department of Media and Information, the publication is intended to provide the public, journalists, and researchers with a consolidated statistical record of projects implemented during the administration led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

The government says the Ninth Cabinet entered office amid an unusually difficult period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, declining global oil prices, prolonged economic pressures, regional instability, and both internal and external political challenges.

Despite those conditions, the report argues, the administration continued pursuing long-term development plans while expanding public services and undertaking structural reforms across government institutions.

Rather than focusing on individual flagship projects, the document presents an expansive statistical portrait of how the government measures its performance.

It frames the Ninth Cabinet's priorities around strengthening infrastructure, modernizing public administration, diversifying sources of revenue, digitizing government services, improving electricity and water security, and expanding investment beyond the oil sector.

Water infrastructure occupies one of the report's largest sections, reflecting what the government identifies as an increasingly strategic priority as drought and climate pressures reshape regional planning.

According to the report, the Ninth Cabinet has constructed nine dams with a combined investment of 265.7 billion Iraqi dinars and a total storage capacity of 252.8 million cubic meters of water.

Among the largest projects are the Dwin Dam, designed to retain 100 million cubic meters, and the Gomaspan Dam, with capacity for 97.5 million cubic meters. Other projects include Bastora, Dewana, Khinis, Aqoban, Toorajar, Shawger, and Chamrga.

The government says these projects are intended to strengthen drought resilience, support agricultural production, improve water supplies for livestock, and reduce flood risks.

The report also highlights continued expansion of smaller water infrastructure. Thirty ponds have been completed during the Ninth Cabinet while another 57 remain under construction, supplementing the 98 ponds that existed before 2019.

Alongside storage infrastructure, the government reports major investment in drinking water systems. It identifies the 720-billion-dinar Erbil Emergency Water Project as the largest initiative, with daily capacity of 480,000 cubic meters.

Other major schemes include the Dukan-Sulaimani Phase Three project, the Qushtapa Water Project, Faida in Duhok, Akre, Darbandikhan, Ranya-Chwarqurna-Hajiawa, and the Koya-Chamchamal network.

Wastewater treatment also forms part of the strategy.

According to the report, two sewage treatment phases, valued at a combined $779 million, are under implementation, while water distribution networks continue to expand through projects including the Erbil water network, the Barzan rural water system, and the Pirmam project.

Taken together, the government presents these investments as the foundation of a longer-term approach to water security rather than isolated construction projects.

Food production is similarly linked to infrastructure planning. The report argues that investments in agricultural facilities are intended to strengthen domestic production while improving supply chains.

The government says four new grain silos in Qushtapa, Kalar, Rovia, and Halabja will provide combined storage capacity of 160,000 tons at a cost of 90 billion dinars, while additional silos are under construction in Duhok, Zaxo, Kifri, Koya, and Harir.

Beyond storage, the report records 319 cold-storage facilities, approximately 30,000 greenhouses, 1,341 factories, and 13,943 registered companies.

According to the government, agricultural products grown in the Kurdistan Region now reach markets throughout central and southern Iraq, while exports have expanded to regional and international destinations, including products such as rice, honey, pomegranates, apples, mushrooms, potatoes, tahini, and sumac.

The report also notes that agriculture's share of total investment rose from 1.8 percent in 2018 to 12 percent by 2025, which the government presents as evidence of broader efforts to diversify economic activity.

Transportation infrastructure constitutes another major component of the statistical review. According to the report, the Ninth Cabinet has launched 1,271 road projects with a total planned investment exceeding 5.3 trillion dinars and covering nearly 5,940 kilometers.

Of those, 810 projects spanning 3,055 kilometers have been completed, while 461 projects covering another 2,885 kilometers remain under implementation.

The projects extend across Erbil, Duhok, Sulaimani, Halabja, Soran, Garmian, Raperin, and Zaxo, illustrating a region-wide construction program.

Within municipalities, the report records 2,747 projects worth 3.4 trillion dinars alongside more than 3,100 water and sewerage initiatives.

Additional investments include urban roads, bridges, tourism infrastructure, heritage preservation projects, and traffic engineering measures ranging from pedestrian bridges and underpasses to road barriers, markings, crossings, speed-control installations, and traffic signs.

According to the government, these initiatives are designed to improve mobility, commercial connectivity, and public safety.

The report devotes considerable attention to administrative reform, portraying institutional modernization as a central element of governance. Financial reforms are anchored by the MyAccount banking initiative, through which more than 950,000 salary earners have opened bank accounts.

The report also records approximately 220,000 users of the government's digital payment system and more than 1.1 million electronic payment transactions.

Other reforms cited include reviews of more than 357,000 civilian employee records, examination of nearly 1,500 senior administrative files, the elimination of more than 4,100 cases involving unlawful double salaries, recovery of 2.13 trillion dinars from historical debts and advances, and establishment of a National Bank with capital of 250 billion dinars.

Within the security sector, the government reports that 88,900 Peshmerga personnel across 38 brigades and nine divisions have been reorganized under the Ministry of Peshmerga, while transfers involving additional forces remain underway.

According to the report, these measures are intended to strengthen administrative efficiency, transparency, and institutional integration.

Electricity generation and the government's Runaki Project receive some of the report's most extensive coverage.

According to the data, installed electricity generation increased from 2,360 megawatts in 2019 to 4,334 megawatts in 2026, an expansion of 1,974 megawatts.

The report attributes the increase to new facilities including Khurmala, Khabat, Garmian, Deralok, Bazian, and solar installations across Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok.

It states that natural gas now accounts for 83 percent of electricity generation, alongside contributions from black oil, diesel and gasoline, hydropower, combined-cycle facilities, and renewable energy.

The government identifies Project Runaki as one of the Ninth Cabinet's flagship initiatives.

According to the report, more than 5.46 million residents now receive 24-hour electricity, including approximately 1.25 million households, more than 153,000 commercial subscribers, and over 54,000 industrial and agricultural users.

The report states that roughly 6,000 neighborhood generators have been retired as electricity service expanded, while government subsidies covering portions of electricity costs continue at varying levels.

Officials report the project is approximately 90 percent complete and remains on course to extend continuous electricity across the Kurdistan Region by the end of 2026. 

The government argues that the initiative combines improvements in service reliability with reductions in pollution, generator costs, and voltage fluctuations.

Investment figures are presented as another indicator of economic diversification.

According to the report, the Ninth Cabinet facilitated 778 investment projects with a combined value of approximately $22.7 billion.

Tourism accounts for the largest share of investment value, followed by housing, industry, trade, agriculture, education, healthcare, banking, sports, services, and arts.

The government portrays the distribution as evidence of efforts to broaden economic activity beyond hydrocarbons while encouraging private-sector participation across multiple industries.

Public services remain another central theme throughout the report. The government records annual delivery of nearly 396 million cubic meters of drinking water, electricity services to more than 1.9 million subscribers, and waste management totaling approximately 2.5 million tons annually.

In education, the report states that 273 schools have been built, around 3,000 renovated, and another 20 remain under construction.

It also records the return of more than 42,000 previously out-of-school children, establishment of two new universities, creation of 44 colleges and institutes, and opening of 318 scientific departments.

Tuition reforms include full waivers for several categories of postgraduate and vulnerable students alongside reductions for others.

Healthcare statistics include 79 hospitals, eight specialized thalassemia hospitals, 31 health and specialty centers, two hospitals under construction, expanded medicine regulation through barcode traceability, and free treatment programs, according to the government.

Digital transformation is presented not simply as technological modernization but as institutional restructuring.

The report lists more than 29 digital systems introduced during the Ninth Cabinet, including KRDPass, MyAccount, the Document Management System, Payroll System, Citizen Complaints System, Company Registration System, Hajj Gateway, the Kurdistan Financial Management System, GOV.KRD, e-VISA services, e-Psûle, border management platforms, government data centers, digital education systems, and electronic archives.

According to the government, these interconnected platforms are designed to reduce administrative procedures, standardize record management, improve financial transparency, and expand digital public services.

Employment figures are woven into the broader development narrative.

The report records the recruitment or regularization of teachers, lecturers, doctors, graduates, guards, contract employees, and environmental specialists.

It also attributes more than 150,000 jobs to investment projects and another 25,000 to factories and licensed industries, while highlighting vocational training, labor registration, youth loan programs, and support for small enterprises.

The report also outlines broader governance indicators beyond economic development.

It notes recognition of eight religious and ethnic communities, construction of 653 religious sites, renovation of another 280, registration of more than 6,000 domestic and international nongovernmental organizations, and continuing humanitarian support for more than 853,000 internally displaced persons and refugees.

Administrative restructuring included creation of the independent administrations of Soran and Zaxo, alongside 13 districts, 12 subdistricts, and more than 70 additional directorates and service institutions.

International engagement also features prominently.

The report lists KRG representations in countries including Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Iran, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Australia, and at the European Union. It also highlights the presence of numerous foreign consulates, international organizations, and development agencies operating within the Kurdistan Region.

Environmental initiatives complete the government's statistical overview.

According to the report, four air-quality monitoring stations have been established, more than 180,000 mines and unexploded ordnance have been neutralized, over 14 million square meters of land have been cleared, 34 million square meters of firebreaks have been created, and regulations now require 25 percent green-space allocations in industrial and residential developments.

The report states that the Region's greenery ratio increased from 15 percent in 2018 to 20 percent in 2026.

Among the largest environmental initiatives is the Erbil Green Belt Project, envisioned as a two-kilometer-wide corridor encircling the city.

According to the government, the eight-phase initiative will plant 7.7 million olive, pistachio, and orange saplings, construct 10 ponds and reservoirs, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by between 140,000 and 210,000 tons, create employment opportunities, expand agricultural production, combat desertification, reduce dust, and improve air quality.

The report says the first phase has been completed while the second remains under implementation.

Taken together, the statistical publication represents the Kurdistan Region Government's own assessment of seven years of governance under the Ninth Cabinet.

By compiling measurable indicators across infrastructure, public administration, energy, investment, digital transformation, environmental policy, and public services, the report offers a comprehensive benchmark of how the government evaluates its performance and long-term development strategy between 2019 and 2026.