Planning: 1,452 projects stalled for financial and contractual reasons

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[size=52]Planning: 1,452 projects stalled for financial and contractual reasons[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/Bright news[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, Sunday, the Ministry of Planning acknowledged that there are 1,452 suspended projects in Iraq, and attributed this to financial and contracting reasons, noting that some of the problems regarding these projects have reached the judiciary for resolution, explaining that securing their funds is from the budgets of previous years.[/size]
[size=45]Ministry spokesman Abdul-Zahra Al-Hindawi said in a statement to (Al-Mada), that "the lagging projects have reached 1,452 out of more than 6,300 projects in progress, called continuing projects."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi added, "The lagging projects include different areas, and the reasons for stopping them are different, some of which are related to the lack of financial allocations during the past period." He pointed out that "others are related to contracts between the beneficiary and the executing agency, and there is a defect in the concluded contract."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi stressed that “this defect leads to reluctance or delay in the project,” noting that “some disputes regarding these projects have reached the judiciary in order to resolve them.” He continues, "The Ministry of Planning, as far as it is concerned, is keen to address all the problems facing these projects, complete and resume work with them, and exclude projects that cannot be worked on." Al-Hindawi pointed out that "there are procedures that included a number of projects, as we had more than 52 hospitals suspended throughout Iraq, with different bed capacities ranging from 50 to 600 beds."[/size]
[size=45]He noted, "a committee formed under the chairmanship of Minister of Planning Khaled Al-Najm studied each hospital case separately, and treated the largest part of this number."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi spoke about “the problems related to 33 hospitals have been addressed and work has resumed, and some of them have been completed and will be handed over to the Ministry of Health soon.” He stressed, "The inability to add new projects at the present time due to the lack of a budget for Iraq to allocate the necessary funds to include new projects, and we are talking today only about the ongoing projects that have been included and are financially covered by the budget laws of previous years." Al-Hindawi went on to say, "The financing of these projects is according to the completed percentages, one stage after the other, and their allocations are secured."[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the economic expert, Manar Al-Obaidi, said in an interview with (Al-Mada), that "part of the projects witnessed the expenditure of large funds, but the rates of completion were low."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Obaidi added, "These projects need to be re-evaluated and budgeted for themselves," noting that "Iraq needs to raise the ceiling of the investment budget, but as a result of the high operating expenses, it is unable to raise the investment aspect in the various budgets of the past years." He believed, "These two reasons are behind the delay of projects in the Iraqi state for many years." And Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi had confirmed during the government session last week, that "the government was able to overcome many problems, and revive many of the lagging projects that had been planned for years," noting that "the absence of the budget has affected the government's performance and plans in implementing it." Vital projects that serve the citizen.[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that observers talked about the existence of a large number of lagging projects in Iraq, and attributed this to many reasons, most notably corruption and the lack of oversight by the competent authorities, calling for the accountability of the authorities responsible for this disruption, especially since some of them directly affect the lives of citizens and are related to health services, water and sewage and electricity.[/size]
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