ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Work on the second part of Erbil’s 150-meter ring road continues along the Erbil-Shaqlawa road towards Erbil-Koya.

The total project is a 70 kilometre-long highway that will encircle the Kurdistan Region’s capital city of Erbil, and so far it is 37 percent of the way to completion.

The project is being implemented with the help of a long-term loan by the Hemn Group, the company in charge of the road's construction. Ameer Abdulkhaliq, the company's manager of roads, on Monday said “the work is going really well.” He added that “900 employees, most of whom are locals, work on the project [for] about 16 hours a day.”

Around 300,000 tons of rubble has been used on the project so far, in addition to 100,000 tons of asphalt, and 30,000 meters of curbstone, according to Abdulkhaliq.

Construction began on the 150-meter ring road in September 2018. The second phase of the project started on September 4.

The first part of the giant road, which is 14 kilometres long and connects the Erbil-Shaqlawa to Erbil-Baharka roads, was opened in February. This initial portion of the road cost $131 million. The second phase of the highway is 7.2 kilometres long, connecting Erbil-Shaqlawa to Erbil-Koya roads.

Erbil is already looped by five ring roads: the 30m, 40m, 60m, 100m, and 120m. It is hoped that the project will help alleviate the sprawling city’s congestion.

On either side of the giant 150-meter road, there will be five vehicle lanes. The road will be connected to a service road.

The entire ring project was expected to take three-and-a-half years to complete, but current progress suggests it will take longer.