Latest news with #KirkukKurdish
Rudaw Net
16-05-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Jordan to supply Iraq's electrical grid with 150-200 MW by August
Also in Iraq Iraq begins registering land for Development Road Green Climate Fund approves Iraq's $1.3bn climate program Iraqi electoral body to open candidate registration May 25 Over 100 public figures denounce trial of Kirkuk Kurdish farmer as 'political' A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Jordan's state-owned electricity provider said the second phase of a project to supply Iraq with power is nearing completion and is expected to deliver 150-200 megawatts by August, as Baghdad races to ease summer shortages. 'The project is nearing completion at this stage and is expected to supply the Iraqi side with about 150-200 megawatts,' said Sofian al-Bataineh, the director of the Jordanian National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), state media Petra reported. Petra said NEPCO is increasing efforts to complete the phase in August. In February 2024, Jordan signed an agreement to supply electricity to Iraq, building on a foundation laid in October 2022. On Thursday, Ahmed Mousa, spokesperson for Iraq's electricity ministry, told Rudaw that the first stage of the project has been completed and currently provides 54 megawatts to Anbar. Third and fourth stages are planned. 'The third phase of the project will reach 350 megawatts of electricity, and then we will discuss the fourth phase, which is to connect the power line between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq,' Mousa said. According to Petra, the project will eventually reach 500 megawatts. Despite its vast oil and gas reserves, Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages. At times, especially during the hot summer months, the supply is able to meet only about half the demand. In addition to Jordan, the electricity ministry is working with Gulf countries and Turkey to boost the power supply. In April, the ministry announced it was in talks with Turkey and had signed a contract to double its electricity imports from 300 megawatts to 600 megawatts. For years, Iraq has relied on gas imports from Iran to run its power plants, putting its power grid at the mercy of sanctions waivers from the United States and leaving it vulnerable to periodic cuts in the supply by Iran.
Rudaw Net
16-05-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Iraq begins registering land for Development Road
Also in Iraq Green Climate Fund approves Iraq's $1.3bn climate program Iraqi electoral body to open candidate registration May 25 Over 100 public figures denounce trial of Kirkuk Kurdish farmer as 'political' UN hails Iraq's repatriations from Syria ISIS detention camps A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Baghdad has begun the process of registering land along the Development Road route in the southern provinces. 'The cadastral maps for the Development Road project have been submitted to the provinces of Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Diwaniyah, and Basra,' Maysam Safi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, told Rudaw on Thursday. The cadastral maps outline the ownership of lands along the project's route - whether state-owned or privately held - in order to take the necessary steps to register them under the relevant ministries involved in the Development Road project. 'These maps include the numbers of land plots and parcels that fall along the Development Road,' Safi said. Spanning 1,200 kilometers, the Development Road project begins at Basra's Faw Port on the Persian Gulf and stretches to the northern borders with Turkey. The $17 billion corridor will feature both railways and highways designed to transport goods and passengers with the goal of making Iraq a trade hub. Safi said that secondary registration committees - led by the governors of the four provinces - will begin the process of registering lands along the Development Road route. Provincial councils must approve the route before construction can begin. Ahmed Ibrahim, spokesperson for the Dhi Qar Provincial Council, told Rudaw that the committees have not yet been formed and the project's route through the province has not been put to a vote. The council is scheduled to meet on May 20 to review and discuss the proposed map. The first phase of the Development Road project is expected to be completed by 2028, with final completion planned for 2050. Officials say the Development Road will strengthen Iraq's geopolitical standing, boost the national economy, and create thousands of jobs by linking the country to European markets via Turkey. However, it has been a point of contention between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is concerned that there are no major highway or railway connections to the Kurdistan Region in the plan. Erbil has warned that centralizing trade routes through federal territories could weaken the Region's control over cross-border trade and customs excise.
Rudaw Net
16-05-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Green Climate Fund approves Iraq's $1.3bn climate program
Also in Iraq Iraqi electoral body to open candidate registration May 25 Over 100 public figures denounce trial of Kirkuk Kurdish farmer as 'political' UN hails Iraq's repatriations from Syria ISIS detention camps Erdogan vows to monitor PKK disarmament, thanks Trump for lifting Syria sanctions A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations-affiliated Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved Iraq's $1.3 billion climate program, a five-year initiative that includes 18 projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting the impacts of climate change across the country, Iraqi officials said on Thursday. 'The program aims to reduce the impacts of climate change and covers all provinces of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region,' said Iraqi Environment Minister Halo Askari. The goal of the program is to help Iraq meet the commitments it made when it joined the Paris Climate Agreement and is part of Iraq's broader effort to enhance its climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. It includes measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the energy, industrial and transport sectors, as well as to adapt to climate change in the fields of agriculture and water resources, Askari said. GCF, established in 2010, is a UN-affiliated initiative that finances climate-related projects in developing countries with backing from UN member states. Yousif Muayad, director general of the Climate Change Directorate at Iraq's Ministry of Environment, told Rudaw the five-year program includes a range of projects involving the ministries of agriculture, municipalities, water resources and other government bodies. One proposed initiative, he said, focuses on 'planting trees and establishing green belts across the provinces.' 'We have proposed projects to the fund requiring $1.3 billion to secure our budget, and they have approved our program, but it's unclear whether all the proposed projects will be accepted,' Muayad explained. A delegation from the fund is expected to visit Iraq in September to make a final decision on the proposed projects. The program builds on a $39 million project approved by the GCF in October 2024 to strengthen climate resilience among vulnerable agricultural communities. That project, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aimed to improve the livelihoods of two million Iraqis through better water management, modern irrigation systems, and renewable energy solutions. The UN's Global Environment Outlook 6 (GEO-6) ranked Iraq as the fifth most vulnerable country globally to reduced water availability and extreme temperatures, based on data from 2020 to 2021. Torhan al-Mufti, an advisor to the prime minister, told Rudaw in an interview in March that 'Iraq is among the 15 most climate-affected countries globally,' adding that the country is going through a period of water scarcity but has not slid into drought yet.
Rudaw Net
05-05-2025
- Climate
- Rudaw Net
Around 550 hospitalized across Iraq due to intense dust storm
Also in Iraq Seven dead, 53 infected with hemorrhagic fever across Iraq: Health ministry Iraqi defense ministry sues Kirkuk Kurdish farmer over insult allegation Halabja becomes Iraq's 19th province Turkmen MP urges end to Baghdad-Erbil trade restrictions, warns of empty markets A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nearly 550 people have been hospitalized across Iraq on Monday as a severe dust storm swept through several provinces, causing widespread respiratory issues, health officials confirmed. In Kirkuk, 94 people were admitted to hospitals with dust-related complications, according to Saman Yaba, spokesperson for the province's health directorate. In the north-central Salahaddin province, around 55 people - primarily elderly individuals and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions - were transferred to local hospitals for treatment. Rudaw has learned that the number of affected persons in the province is expected to rise further as the storm continues. Meanwhile, in Diyala province, located in eastern Iraq, over 400 people were hospitalized due to respiratory distress. Faris al-Azzawi, spokesperson for the Diyala Health Department, told Rudaw that all medical institutions in the province are fully prepared to receive and treat additional patients. Earlier on Monday, Amer al-Jabri, spokesperson for Iraq's Meteorology and Seismology Directorate, reported that the dust storm is most intense in the central and western regions of Iraq,with a lesser impact anticipated in the north. He added that wind speeds could reach between 30 and 50 kilometers per hour, reducing visibility to as low as four kilometers. Dust storms are a recurring phenomenon in Iraq, but their frequency and severity have increased due to prolonged drought, desertification, and rising temperatures. According to Baghdad's environment ministry, Iraq has experienced an average of 272 dusty days per year over the past two decades - a figure projected to climb to 300 days annually by 2050. Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Poor water management and dam construction in upstream nations have significantly reduced the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, further exacerbating environmental degradation. The United Nations has called for urgent measures to combat Iraq's worsening climate crisis.
Rudaw Net
05-05-2025
- Health
- Rudaw Net
Seven dead, 53 infected with hemorrhagic fever across Iraq: Health ministry
Also in Iraq Iraqi defense ministry sues Kirkuk Kurdish farmer over insult allegation Halabja becomes Iraq's 19th province Turkmen MP urges end to Baghdad-Erbil trade restrictions, warns of empty markets Iraq apprehends two escaped prisoners A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Seven people have died from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Iraq and 53 others have been confirmed to be infected, a senior official from the Iraqi health ministry told Rudaw on Monday. Riyadh al-Halfi, Director General of the Public Health Directorate at the health ministry, told Rudaw's Ziyad Ismael that 'any patient showing symptoms consistent with hemorrhagic fever, along with a history of contact with animals or raw meat, is treated as a suspected case.' Blood samples are then collected from these individuals and sent to the specialized laboratories for confirmation, he explained. Halfi further noted that 'treatments are available in all hospitals across Iraq,' adding that 'antiviral medications and supportive remedies are being used to help accelerate the patients' recovery from the infection.' CCHF is a highly infectious viral disease transmitted to humans through multiple routes, including bites from infected ticks, contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals, exposure to bodily fluids of infected individuals, and consumption of raw or undercooked meat from infected livestock. Preventive measures include the use of protective gear - such as gloves, masks, and goggles - especially for those who work with animals or meat. Veterinary hospitals have since late April been conducting large-scale tick control campaigns to reduce transmission. The Iraqi government around that time stated that it is 'exerting full efforts' to contain the outbreak, reassuring citizens that 'with proper measures in place, transmission to citizens will remain rare.' The ministry urged caution in meat handling, especially among homemakers, recommending the use of protective gloves and separate utensils for raw meat. The Kurdistan Region on Friday recorded the first case of CCHF in the town of Koya, southeast of Erbil, according to the Region's health ministry.. The infected person, a 42-year-old butcher, is currently receiving treatment and is in stable condition, ministry spokesperson Sarkar Surchi said. Halfi told Rudaw on Monday, 'We are closely monitoring the situation in the Kurdistan Region,' adding that the cooperation entails 'providing treatments and diagnostic supplies, and treating the Region's provinces.' The director general of the Public Health Directorate at the Iraqi health ministry further confirmed to Rudaw that Baghdad in late April allocated emergency funds to the ministries of agriculture and health to step up 'tick control' efforts. 'Directives to prevent unregulated slaughtering and livestock movement' were also issued, Halfi elaborated. 'We are working in full coordination with all stakeholders, including veterinary services, to break the cycle of infection,' he said, reaffirming the government's commitment to a nationwide public health response.
