ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A portion of the 120 Meter Road, the largest in the Kurdistan Regional capital, was opened on Monday in the presence of government ministers and officials. The road will alleviate heavy traffic on the Erbil-Pirmam and Erbil-Koya roads. The five-kilometer stretch is part of the project’s second phase that is aimed at easing some of the city’s heavy traffic, especially the congestion caused by vehicles arriving from Sulaimani province. This portion of the road will be particularly helpful in reducing traffic buildup in front of the Family Mall. “We are delighted that Hemn Group has delivered what it had promised in completing this project, a debt the government owes them. This is an important ring road and we are very happy with it,” Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Erbil province, told Rudaw. The Hemn Group has pledged to finish the next phase of the project near the Kirkuk road and another segment serving the Kirkuk-Mosul road by the end of the year. The entire road is expected to be complete by the close of 2018. At 28 kilometers, the $440 million road will be Erbil’s longest. It will not have any traffic lights or U-turns, allowing traffic to pass smoothly. The governor hailed Khalid Khoshnaw, the contractor hired for the project, as an example of Kurdish patriotism, because he has continued the project despite incurring debts. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has not been able to pay him because of the ongoing financial and budgetary crisis. “We as the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Ministry of Finance have come here to support and back the contractors and company owners that have gotten themselves burdened with debts for the sake of supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government and for the service projects to be continued for the people of Kurdistan,” Rebaz Hamlan, the minister of finance, told Rudaw. The minister said the KRG is drawing on its internal revenues to pay salaries, adding it has allocated a portion of its budget to pay back companies and contractors. “We will not solely depend on oil revenues. We have our own revenues and will depend on ourselves with the efforts of the people of Kurdistan and all the investors and contractors,” Newroz Mawlud, the minister of municipalities, told Rudaw.
