Fifteen years of blast barriers in Iraq with a Kurdish twist
A recent decision in Baghdad has led to the government removing more than 70,000 of these barriers around party and government offices and between neighborhoods there.
“Removing these concrete barriers has reopened a thousand roads to the people of Baghdad. This move came after security around Baghdad was tightened to prevent car bombs from entering the city,” Baghdad Operations Command has stated.
Security officials have debated whether tensions in the country have decreased to a sufficient level to warrant their removal.
“These concrete walls should be transported to border areas or suburban areas of the city,” argued Mohammed Raza, a member of security and defense committee in the Iraqi parliament.
The Kurdistan Region is abundant in the concrete needed to manufacture the specialty blast barriers which were designed to withstand al-Qaeda attacks which were prevalent following the invasion.
In 2004, the barriers were being built by a local business called Company 77 which is owned by Heresh Khoshnaw. Currently, many companies are building them.
“At the end of 2003, the Americans came up with a new design for these security walls due to volatile security situations in Iraq. The type of concrete and connecting the steel rods were different,” Khoshnaw said.
"This kind of concrete barrier reduces damage caused by an explosion by 70 percent. The make and design of the barrier will make its rubble go to the sky rather than spread around. Moreover, it can withstand rocket attacks, RPJs, and car bombs," he added.
The first round of concrete barriers built by 77 arrived in Baghdad in early 2004.
“We sent the first round of these barriers to Americans to protect their headquarters in the Green Zone. Then we sent them to other places like Basra, Hila and other provinces,” Khoshnaw said.
Demand on these concrete barriers grew steadily due to increasing numbers of explosions and terrorist attacks.
“We had five factories in Erbil, one in Baghdad’s Green Zone, one in Baghdad airport, one in Basra airport, and one within a US base in Ramadi. We were making nearly 1,000 walls a day, but still couldn’t meet the demands of the market,” Khoshnaw said.
Demand on concrete barriers was high until 2007. But it declined after the expulsion of al-Qaeda from Iraq and a decline in terrorist attacks.
“I had a $1.8 billion contract with the Iraqi government and Americans. We were making different types of barriers and their prices ranged from $180 to $2,500. But most demand was on a type of barrier called T-walls whose prices range between $350 and $900. They are put in the Green Zone,” Khoshnaw said.
He said other countries invited his company to make these barriers for them too because of their high quality.
“The concrete barriers Company 77 were making became a brand. That is why we worked in Afghanistan and Kuwait too at the request of Americans,” Khoshnaw said.
More than 100 companies are making concrete barriers in Iraq currently and nearly 12 in the Kurdistan Region, according to Khoshnaw. But he said his company is no longer making them due to low demand.
“Currently, we have ready-made concrete barriers worth $20 million,” he said.
With the ISIS conflict winding down and attacks in the Kurdistan Region and southern Iraq lower than in the disputed areas, it begs the question: What will happen to the walls which have been a trademark in Iraq for 15 years?
“Previously, we were sending 300 to 400 barriers to Iraq daily. But demand on them has declined because the war is over. That is why we are making only 100 barriers a day nowadays,” Hamid Sadiq, owner of Ibria Company that makes the walls, said.
The barriers can be found in most cities in the Kurdistan Region, as well as around IDP camps, military installations, hospitals, hotels, and the airports.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has no plans to remove these barriers due to security concerns.
“We don’t have too many concrete barriers. These concrete walls have only been put around sensitive places like the ministry of interior, Asayesh (Security), council of ministers, and the parliament. And these barriers have not hindered access to people or caused problems,” said Sami Jalal, the general director at the KRG ministry of interior.
Following the ISIS conflict, the KRG is hesitant to remove the barriers.
"That is why no decision has been made to remove them. These places are the symbol of the authority and should therefore be protected,” he argued.