Iraq starts first phase of school construction under Eduba PPP programme
Iraq announced on Sunday the start of construction of new school buildings under the first phase of the Eduba Programme, a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative led by the Iraq Development Fund (IDF).
The programme, launched in late 2024, is designed to tackle the OPEC-member's pressing need for school infrastructure.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani officially launched, via video conference, the construction of schools in Baghdad (Sabaa Qsoor), Babylon (Hayy Al-Hisn in Al-Mahaweel district), Basra (Al-Anbari area in Al-Hartha district), Muthanna (Al-Halayjia area in Al-Rumaitha district), and Anbar (Ameriyat Al-Somoud in Al-Fallujah district).
In an official post, he acknowledged the cooperation of various entities in preparing land for the school projects, noting that Iraq requires approximately 10,000 school buildings and that traditional construction methods alone cannot meet these demands.
The first phase of Eduba involves the construction of 600 schools, which will be built and maintained by the private sector under a 10-year Build-Lease-Transfer (BLT) model, according to past statements.
In an interview with Al Majalla magazine in November 2024, IDF's director Mohammed al-Najjar said they are planning to mobilise almost $4 billion in private funds to build the schools on government land and lease them back to the government.
In February 2024, a report by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) named Singapore-based Meinhardt and Turkey's Yerim Contracting among the 12 private companies appointed for the first phase of Eduba.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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