Iraq’s longest bridge opens, named in memory of Peshmerga general
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Martyr Hussein Mansour Bridge, the longest in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq at a length of one kilometer, was opened on Saturday alongside the launch of other building and reconstruction projects.
Hussein Mansour was a Peshmerga general who was killed on the front lines southwest of Kirkuk in 2015 during the fight against ISIS.
The housing and reconstruction minister of the Kurdistan Region visited the Garmiyan bloc on Saturday to commence a number of projects and to lay the first building block for the next stages of construction.
“The first stage of the Marg road has been completed. Today we begin the building of the second and third stages. God willing in the coming two years the road on which many accidents happen, the Darbandikhan-Kalar road, will be implemented and will be turned into a comfortable two lane road,” Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, the minister of construction and housing, told Rudaw.
“This road has a lot of traffic on it. Lots of accidents happened in this area. If this two-lane [road] is completed, accidents will fall,” one resident told Rudaw.
The Sangaw-Sarqala road, which is 80 kilometers in length, was also commenced on Saturday.
The projects cost around 260 billion Iraqi dinars in total. Some of the projects involve turning roads where there a high number of accidents into two lane highways. The Kalar-Rizgari and the Maydan-Taza De roads are among those to be widened.
“This [road] was built before, but it has since deteriorated. Cars get damaged [by it]. Now that they have renewed it we are thankful to them and it will benefit us. We can bring our products into the market comfortably and easily,” another resident said.
The developments come despite a crippling financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region, which has lasted three years.
“The continuation of ten projects promised to us by Deputy Prime Minister [Qubad Talabani] are all being implemented. All the projects are in their final stages,” an official told Rudaw.
There are fears the region’s financial woes could be exacerbated by the budget allocated for the Kurdistan Region in the Iraqi budget, which is far lower than the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had requested.
Hussein Mansour was a Peshmerga general who was killed on the front lines southwest of Kirkuk in 2015 during the fight against ISIS.
The housing and reconstruction minister of the Kurdistan Region visited the Garmiyan bloc on Saturday to commence a number of projects and to lay the first building block for the next stages of construction.
“The first stage of the Marg road has been completed. Today we begin the building of the second and third stages. God willing in the coming two years the road on which many accidents happen, the Darbandikhan-Kalar road, will be implemented and will be turned into a comfortable two lane road,” Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, the minister of construction and housing, told Rudaw.
“This road has a lot of traffic on it. Lots of accidents happened in this area. If this two-lane [road] is completed, accidents will fall,” one resident told Rudaw.
The Sangaw-Sarqala road, which is 80 kilometers in length, was also commenced on Saturday.
The projects cost around 260 billion Iraqi dinars in total. Some of the projects involve turning roads where there a high number of accidents into two lane highways. The Kalar-Rizgari and the Maydan-Taza De roads are among those to be widened.
“This [road] was built before, but it has since deteriorated. Cars get damaged [by it]. Now that they have renewed it we are thankful to them and it will benefit us. We can bring our products into the market comfortably and easily,” another resident said.
The developments come despite a crippling financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region, which has lasted three years.
“The continuation of ten projects promised to us by Deputy Prime Minister [Qubad Talabani] are all being implemented. All the projects are in their final stages,” an official told Rudaw.
There are fears the region’s financial woes could be exacerbated by the budget allocated for the Kurdistan Region in the Iraqi budget, which is far lower than the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had requested.