BAGHDAD, Iraq - Baghdad’s Qanat al-Jaish project, aimed to be a touristic area, has been left incomplete due to mismanagement and corruption 12 years since it was launched.
The canal project, which extends 23 kilometers towards northern Baghdad, started in 2011 and was supposed to be completed within a year, for which around $146 million were initially allocated.
It is aimed to be a tourist area in Baghdad. Furthermore, It includes gardens, swimming pools, children's playgrounds, and restaurants.
Qanat al-Jaish project in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, remains unfinished, similar to other projects in the capital.
Hadi al-Salami, a member of the Iraqi Parliament said that previously, “the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq issued decree No. 121 that restricted the Iraqi parliament so that we could not investigate or remove anything.”
But now we have a program, we will closely monitor the work of the government, and a strong investigation will start from the parliament.”
“There is no monitoring by the government,” Kadhim Alwan, a resident, told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz on Monday. He added, “The government should look at the situation of the country and the people.
"The beautiful and historic Baghdad is covered with garbage," Ibrahim Muhammad, a clan sheikh, said. “The government should look at the situation of the country and the people.”
According to the investigations conducted by Parliament's Integrity Committee, the size of corruption in Iraq has exceeded $400 billion since 2003.
Corruption and mismanagement are two major factors in the crises that Iraqis have experienced, and the poverty rate has risen to 31 percent.
