Iraq's Failing Construction Projects

The volatile security situation, even in the relatively calm areas, also hindered the reconstruction projects. In September, the police in the Basra governorate revealed that more than a quarter million dollars was stolen at gunpoint from a contracting company manager; these were the funds that were allocated to reconstruction projects.

Amer al-Midhati, an engineer in Babil governorate, told Al-Monitor that the reasons behind the failure of reconstruction projects “is contracting with inexperienced or fictional companies whose work is not scrutinized due to the corruption network, and the fact that contractors are using funds without any monitoring while splitting them with officials.”

It seems that the solution to this phenomenon is to work with foreign investment companies that have experience in the construction field. The implementation of projects should no longer be monopolized by the central government but rather by the provinces, which would help achieve high success rates in completing the lagging projects and the implementation of new ones.

However, international companies will not operate in Iraq unless the security situation becomes stable for them to achieve better results. There are several intertwined problems that need to be resolved, and this goes beyond the technical frameworks and reach the political decision-making.