In 2024, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s ninth cabinet prioritized infrastructure, food security, water, and electricity, spearheading Kurdistan’s sustainable development.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Media and Information Office announced that in 2024, the ninth cabinet, under the leadership of Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, launched tens of major projects and numerous others that directly serve citizens. Many of these projects are strategic and aim to strengthen the economic infrastructure of the Kurdistan Region.
Road Infrastructure
In the past year, significant strategic projects were completed in the road and highway sector, and several others were opened to the public and completed for citizens’ use. Notable among them are:
- Opening the dual carriageway of Spilk-Khalifan-Soran.
- The Gazna road project, which connects Erbil’s 120-meter road to the main Erbil-Duhok Road.
- Reopening the Derbandi Rania Bridge and the Awa Kheri Bridge to traffic.
In addition to these, several other road and highway projects were initiated in 2024, including:
- Establishing the dual carriageway of Erbil-Koya.
- Dual carriageways for Ba’adri-Itut, Sheikhan-Lalish, Gomaspan-Smaqoli, and Halabja-Twagot-Qelija.
- The Barda Rash-Khabat dual carriageway.
Food Security
In 2024, significant progress was made in the food security sector, emphasizing agriculture, a cornerstone of the ninth cabinet’s policy to strengthen the Kurdistan Region in both public and priv ate sectors. Ten key projects were completed, including:
- The Qushtapa silo, built with an investment of 21.2 billion IQD, capable of storing 40,000 tons of wheat, now accessible to farmers.
- A project dedicated to breeding cattle and producing dairy products, the largest animal husbandry initiative in Iraq, was launched in the Kurdistan Region.
Other notable projects include:
- The Silvana Factory in Zakho, aimed at marketing farmers’ wheat.
- The establishment of the Akre Vegetable and Fruit Market with a budget of 28.6 billion IQD, making it the second-largest market in Iraq.
- The Halabja silo project, with an investment of 27.2 billion IQD, capable of storing 40,000 tons of grains.
Water Security
One of the key priorities of the ninth cabinet has been water security to protect Kurdistan’s environment and address climate change. Strategic plans were implemented in 2024, resulting in several major water projects, including:
- Reopening the dams at Chamrga, Bastora, and Gomaspan, which collectively provide about 120 million cubic meters of water.
- The Erbil Rapid Water Transmission Project, which addresses Erbil’s water issues for the next 30 years. Approximately 50% of the work has been completed.
- The Qushtapa Water Project, resolving water issues in Qushtapa district and nearby villages, benefiting over 2 million residents of the area will benefit from it, and approximately 1,100 water wells will be closed.
- The construction of the Dween Dam, with a capacity of 100 million cubic meters of water storage.
Industry and Tourism
Similar to other sectors, the ninth cabinet has given great importance to both industrial and tourism sectors and has provided many facilities for local and foreign investors to implement industrial and tourism projects in the Kurdistan Region. Among the most important factories opened last year was the Erbil Cable Company, which consists of several factories, as well as a specialized syringe production factory.
In the tourism sector, the second phase of the Zakho Corniche project has begun, and a five-star hotel was opened on the peak of Mount Korek, in addition to several other projects in this field, including laying the foundation stone for the Sarhaldan Park in Duhok city and laying the foundation stones for several other parks.
Health and Education
In the past year, many projects were implemented in both health and education sectors to serve citizens, with the most prominent being laying the foundation stone for the largest cancer treatment hospital in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, laying the foundation stone for the Awareness and Rehabilitation Center for Drug Addicts, and also last year 42 new schools were opened.
Electricity
In 2024, one of the major accomplishments of the ninth cabinet was the announcement of the Runaki (Light) Project, which is the first step towards 24-hour electricity, and currently, several neighborhoods have been provided with continuous electricity. At present, approximately 100 thousand electricity subscribers in the provinces of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok have benefited from this project, and it is decided that by the end of 2026, all provinces of the Kurdistan Region will have 24-hour electricity through this project.
These represent some of the major projects completed by the ninth cabinet in 2024. Alongside these initiatives, hundreds of other medium and small-scale projects across various sectors were implemented throughout the Kurdistan Region. The ninth cabinet is dedicated to strengthening the region’s infrastructure and ensuring sustainable development.
The Kurdish Globe