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Questions Over Kurdistan’s Unfinished Projects
19/01/2012 05:12:00 By SHWAN BARZINJI
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Some construction projects in Sulaimani province, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo Rudaw.
ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan -- According to data obtained by Rudaw from the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Planning, three dozen construction projects, some with budgets as high as 390 billion Iraqi dinars (US$310 million), have been stalled for nearly seven years.
According to government information, the construction projects are either partially completed or haven’t ever started, and completing the projects requires an additional 38 billion Iraqi dinars (US$32 million).
The data shows that the Ministry of Municipalities & Tourism has 14 stalled projects, five of them in Erbil, eight in Sulaimani and one in Duhok.
The Ministries of Housing, Education, Agriculture and Interior also have incomplete projects in Kurdistan’s three provinces.
Sherwan Assad, general-director of projects at the Ministry of Planning, told Rudaw, “Previously the number of stalled projects was 70, but now they have declined to 36. Some contractors abandoned their projects because they knew that they were unable to finish them, or sometimes they faced budget problems due to miscalculations and designs flaws.”
According to Assad, some companies have sued the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in local courts for cutting their funding.
“Resorting to the courts will take several years and this will delay the projects,” Assad said. “The cases will not get settled easily in the courts.”
The ministry’s data shows that the KRG has continuously given billions of dinars to the companies even though some of them never began the projects.
Abulhamid Majeed, chief planner at the Ministry of Municipality and Tourism, said, “The design of these projects is flawed and they are irresponsibly planned; this is why these projects have stalled for so many years.”
Majeed said residents were in some cases responsible for the delays.
“Some other projects are stalled by the people because the projects passed through their properties, farms and villages, but such cases are limited and we will try to resume working on them soon,” Majeed said.
Since 2004, the Housing Ministry has had about 115 billion dinars ($US100 million) worth of projects abandoned.
“In 2004 the 8 billion dinar (US$6.8 million) construction of Goptapa Bridge, due to finish within 750 days, failed because of a technical reason. Three other youth center projects with a budget of 542 million dinars (US$465,000) stopped as soon as they began,” said Khabat Ahmed, planning director in the ministry of Housing and Reconstruction.
A major tunnel on the Azmar Mountain in Sulaimani and 500 housing units are among the failed projects, Ahmed said.
According to Ahmed, the funding for these projects is still available because “according to the contract, a sum of money is given to the contractors in advance. Then at the end of the project, the expenses will be audited. The Ministry of Finance is dealing with us accordingly.”
Ahmed added, “The nature of delay and stalling in the projects are similar in all the various ministries. It is design flaws, incompetence of the companies and legal action procedures.”
But some contractors blame the KRG for the failed projects. Rizgar Jamal, a member of the Contractors Union, said, “The problem is not only the contractors, but also flaws in the project tenders. Also, the deadlines for the projects are too short and investigations by the quality control teams are the main reasons for the delays.”
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19/01/2012 05:12:00 By SHWAN BARZINJI
Font size:
Some construction projects in Sulaimani province, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo Rudaw.
ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan -- According to data obtained by Rudaw from the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Planning, three dozen construction projects, some with budgets as high as 390 billion Iraqi dinars (US$310 million), have been stalled for nearly seven years.
According to government information, the construction projects are either partially completed or haven’t ever started, and completing the projects requires an additional 38 billion Iraqi dinars (US$32 million).
The data shows that the Ministry of Municipalities & Tourism has 14 stalled projects, five of them in Erbil, eight in Sulaimani and one in Duhok.
The Ministries of Housing, Education, Agriculture and Interior also have incomplete projects in Kurdistan’s three provinces.
Sherwan Assad, general-director of projects at the Ministry of Planning, told Rudaw, “Previously the number of stalled projects was 70, but now they have declined to 36. Some contractors abandoned their projects because they knew that they were unable to finish them, or sometimes they faced budget problems due to miscalculations and designs flaws.”
According to Assad, some companies have sued the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in local courts for cutting their funding.
“Resorting to the courts will take several years and this will delay the projects,” Assad said. “The cases will not get settled easily in the courts.”
The ministry’s data shows that the KRG has continuously given billions of dinars to the companies even though some of them never began the projects.
Abulhamid Majeed, chief planner at the Ministry of Municipality and Tourism, said, “The design of these projects is flawed and they are irresponsibly planned; this is why these projects have stalled for so many years.”
Majeed said residents were in some cases responsible for the delays.
“Some other projects are stalled by the people because the projects passed through their properties, farms and villages, but such cases are limited and we will try to resume working on them soon,” Majeed said.
Since 2004, the Housing Ministry has had about 115 billion dinars ($US100 million) worth of projects abandoned.
“In 2004 the 8 billion dinar (US$6.8 million) construction of Goptapa Bridge, due to finish within 750 days, failed because of a technical reason. Three other youth center projects with a budget of 542 million dinars (US$465,000) stopped as soon as they began,” said Khabat Ahmed, planning director in the ministry of Housing and Reconstruction.
A major tunnel on the Azmar Mountain in Sulaimani and 500 housing units are among the failed projects, Ahmed said.
According to Ahmed, the funding for these projects is still available because “according to the contract, a sum of money is given to the contractors in advance. Then at the end of the project, the expenses will be audited. The Ministry of Finance is dealing with us accordingly.”
Ahmed added, “The nature of delay and stalling in the projects are similar in all the various ministries. It is design flaws, incompetence of the companies and legal action procedures.”
But some contractors blame the KRG for the failed projects. Rizgar Jamal, a member of the Contractors Union, said, “The problem is not only the contractors, but also flaws in the project tenders. Also, the deadlines for the projects are too short and investigations by the quality control teams are the main reasons for the delays.”
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