French report on Baghdad service projects: There are complaints about the quality of work

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[size=52]French report on Baghdad service projects: There are complaints about the quality of work[/size]

[size=45]The France 24 website shed light on the quality or lack thereof of service projects in the capital, Baghdad, while touching on the relative stability that the governorate is experiencing after devastating conflicts that have continued for decades.[/size]
[size=45]The French website stated, in a report seen by Al Mada: “Baghdad enjoys relative stability after devastating conflicts that lasted for decades, which allowed for renovation work in the city, from paved roads and new sewage systems to luxury hotels and restaurants. These projects also allow the authorities to advance their program before public opinion.” “.[/size]
[size=45]He added: “The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, has made the rehabilitation of infrastructure a priority for his government.”[/size]
[size=45]Report details[/size]
[size=45]In Baghdad, which has a population of nine million people, there are many large projects to connect slum neighborhoods, for example, to electricity and water networks, restore roads and sidewalks, and build bridges.[/size]
[size=45]In a country that has made headlines for decades due to explosions and wars, the relative stability that has continued for nearly five years and the declaration of victory over ISIS has allowed the opening of commercial centers, cafes, and luxury restaurants.[/size]
[size=45]On the banks of the Tigris River, patrons of the “One Thousand and One Nights” complex can choose between 12 restaurants, as well as a series of cafes, celebration halls, shops, and a bowling alley. During the weekend, dozens of people come to the place with family or friends to eat, smoke a hookah, and go bowling.[/size]
[size=45]The complex, which was built in the garden of one of Saddam Hussein's palaces, opened its doors in late 2022, on land that is now in the hands of the Journalists Syndicate, which rented the site.[/size]
[size=45]The project was launched by “a number of young investors specialized in tourism,” according to the project’s executive director, Falah Hassan.[/size]
[size=45]Falah believes that “Iraq is an unimaginably fertile land for investment,” but at the same time he points out the presence of “obstacles” such as “the security situation and sterile government red tape,” where one must go through “a thousand windows to be able to obtain one approval paper.”[/size]
[size=45]“Investment climate”[/size]
[size=45]In a report published in late July, the World Bank considered that “the investment climate in Iraq is still weak,” noting in particular “the absence of favorable legislation for companies, an unstable security climate, administrative deficiencies, and systematic corruption,” in reference to bribery. The authorities are seeking to change that reality. The Prime Minister, who has repeatedly expressed his intention to combat corruption, is also working to attract large investors, especially the Gulf countries. In late August, he participated in laying the foundation stone for the luxury Rixos hotel and residential complex, the first Qatari investment in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani said at the time, “Starting with the prime minister and ending with the last employee, we will be with the investor, with the partnership, and with the private sector that is serious about implementing investment projects in Baghdad, the governorates, and the Kurdistan region.”[/size]
[size=45]In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly recently, Al-Sudani affirmed, “We identified the scourge of corruption, and made fighting it our first priority.”[/size]
[size=45]But what is behind this development “boom” in Baghdad? In an article published on the website of the Institute of Regional and International Studies, affiliated with the American University in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region, researcher Haider Al-Shakri believes that “in recent years, the Iraqi political class and its partners in the field of business have preferred to invest their wealth in local projects that serve as a refuge.” For profits gained illegally.”[/size]
[size=45]In this context, Al-Shakri refers specifically to “luxurious residential complexes, commercial centers, and private universities.”[/size]
[size=45]But the authorities are adopting a policy of modernizing infrastructure. The value of investments in the budgets for the years 2023 to 2025 amounts to $37 billion annually, three times the actual value of investments in 2022, according to the World Bank. The large financial reserves in hard currency, exceeding $100 billion, acquired from high oil prices, have made it possible to put these amounts into the budget.[/size]
[size=45]"till when?"[/size]
[size=45]The government established the Service and Engineering Effort Team, which includes efforts and teams from ministries, public companies, army engineers, and the Popular Mobilization Forces. Its mission is to rehabilitate slum neighborhoods “deprived of services for more than twenty years,” according to the head of the service effort in Baghdad, Engineer Abd al-Razzaq Abd Muhaisen.[/size]
[size=45]The service effort teams are working in the dirt alleys in the Kufa neighborhood, located on the outskirts of the capital. Tractors dig the streets to connect new pipes, while a truck hauls away debris.[/size]
[size=45]Abdul Muhaisen, who supervises the work in the Kufa neighborhood, says, “There are more than 1,093 slums in Baghdad Governorate, for which a plan has been prepared, with the work being done gradually.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “There are more than 200 billion dinars” allocated “for infrastructure work, including water,” sanitation, and street rehabilitation.[/size]
[size=45]Among residents, some welcome these changes, but others still complain of several deficiencies in services that affect their daily lives.[/size]
[size=45]Abu Ali Al-Bahadli, a daily construction worker, is thrilled about these improvements in his neighborhood.[/size]
[size=45]“Our areas were completely deprived of services,” he says, adding, “In the past, the situation was different. We could not go out into the street because of the mud caused by the rain.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “We are happy, and this is a dream we had. Our sewers were floating. I dreamed of paving the street and providing services to our area.”[/size]
[size=45]However, his neighbor, Ahmed Radhi, 45 years old, does not view things with the same positivity and complains about the lack of services, water and electricity.[/size]
[size=45]Radhi, a government employee, says, “Give me an official who will be without water for one hour.” They want to pave the street before the water is done. "We are tired."[/size]
[size=45]The man asks, “When will they complete the sidewalk?” When will they install a rain drainage system?” He added, “You come from work tired, there is no electricity or water, sewage is widespread, I want to know for how long?”[/size]
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