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Reconstruction of some Iraqi areas to cost $1.28bn

October 12, 2015 at 12:15 pm

The cost of reconstructing the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin in Iraq is expected to reach $1.28 billion, Abdel-Basit Turki, chairman of the Fund for Areas Affected by Terrorist Operations in Iraq, announced yesterday.

Turki was discussing the reconstruction of areas liberated from Daesh forces. He said: “The reconstruction fund for the affected areas currently has only $350 million, which is a loan from the World Bank, for the purpose of the reconstruction of seven districts in the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin,” explaining that “there are international and local donors who expressed their willingness to support the fund.”

“There are ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Finance to allocate more money to the fund within the 2016 budget, but we expect that what the government will commit is not going to be enough, as the government is facing an economic crisis due to the decline in oil prices,” he continued.

Turki confirmed that the end of this year will witness the start of the reconstruction process, pointing out that the reconstruction process “will consider the priorities first, which can be different from one region to another.”

Infrastructure, residential and government buildings in the provinces were subjected to mass destruction due to the ongoing military operations between the Iraqi security forces and some pro-government forces on the one hand, and Daesh on the other.