Kurdistan
Residents of 20 villages in Smaquli valley block the road linking Erbil and Sulaimani for the fourth consecutive day on April 29, 2023. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Angry over potholes that damage their cars, residents of Smaquli valley have for three days prevented trucks from using the road linking Kurdistan Region's two largest cities, Erbil and Sulaimani, highlighting the Region’s problem with investment in its infrastructure.
Since Wednesday evening, residents of around 20 villages in Smaquli valley have blocked trucks from traversing the route, saying they damage the road and create potholes that force residents to frequently replace tires on their cars.
"We will be doing this until the trucks are no longer here... Our road has completely turned to zero. This is not the main road. Over there is the two-way road of Koya, let them fix it," Shakhawan Nafis, a resident of Smaquli, told Rudaw's Abubakir Ismail on Friday. "My brother's tire burst on the road here a week ago."
Villagers have staged a sit-in, serving refreshments such as tea and preventing trucks from passing through. They are allowing cars and smaller vehicles to pass, weaving through mounds of dirt.
Another resident complained of the negative effects that large trucks have on their picturesque valley and reservoir that they have tried to develop into a tourist attraction.
"There are people who have spent $300,000 on tourism here and do not profit $2,000 a year as nobody comes here because of the trucks," Haji Saifuddin said. "Tourists do not flock here."
The Smaquli reservoir was created seven years ago, but the road frequently flooded. In 2019, the government fixed it after the leader of the New Generation said he would personally go with a team to do the job.
Haval Abubakir, governor of Sulaimani province, said that not enough funds have been allocated for building and maintaining roads in recent years and blamed the financial crisis that began during the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014.
"Directing the money for implementing projects and government supervision has not been at the required level," Abubakir told Rudaw's Sangar Abdulrahman on Saturday, adding that roads - especially those that connect large cities together - must constantly be maintained.
Traffic has increased on smaller roads between the Kurdistan Region's two largest cities of Erbil and Sulaimani after Iraqi forces took control of Kirkuk in October 2017. Though the roads through Kirkuk are better quality, many Kurdish drivers choose not to pass through areas of Iraqi control.
Construction on a planned two-way road between Erbil and Koya has been halted since a financial crisis struck the region in 2014 and forced the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take austerity measures to reduce spending.
According to Hunar Nuri, general director of the Kurdistan Region's roads and reconstruction department, the total cost for building the Erbil-Koya road is estimated to be around $337 million (436 billion IQD) and will take two to three years to complete once the budget has been provided.
Nuri called on the people of Smaquli to cooperate and wait for the Erbil-Koya to be completed.
"The realistic solution is for the Erbil-Koya road to be completed... Once that is done, everything will be resolved," said Koya mayor Tariq Haydari.
The KRG has spent millions on infrastructure and service projects, including on the Erbil-Koya road.
The road at Smaquli remains blocked to heavy vehicle traffic as of Saturday afternoon, with protestors complaining that government authorities have not reached out despite their days-long blockade.
Since Wednesday evening, residents of around 20 villages in Smaquli valley have blocked trucks from traversing the route, saying they damage the road and create potholes that force residents to frequently replace tires on their cars.
"We will be doing this until the trucks are no longer here... Our road has completely turned to zero. This is not the main road. Over there is the two-way road of Koya, let them fix it," Shakhawan Nafis, a resident of Smaquli, told Rudaw's Abubakir Ismail on Friday. "My brother's tire burst on the road here a week ago."
Villagers have staged a sit-in, serving refreshments such as tea and preventing trucks from passing through. They are allowing cars and smaller vehicles to pass, weaving through mounds of dirt.
Another resident complained of the negative effects that large trucks have on their picturesque valley and reservoir that they have tried to develop into a tourist attraction.
"There are people who have spent $300,000 on tourism here and do not profit $2,000 a year as nobody comes here because of the trucks," Haji Saifuddin said. "Tourists do not flock here."
The Smaquli reservoir was created seven years ago, but the road frequently flooded. In 2019, the government fixed it after the leader of the New Generation said he would personally go with a team to do the job.
Haval Abubakir, governor of Sulaimani province, said that not enough funds have been allocated for building and maintaining roads in recent years and blamed the financial crisis that began during the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014.
"Directing the money for implementing projects and government supervision has not been at the required level," Abubakir told Rudaw's Sangar Abdulrahman on Saturday, adding that roads - especially those that connect large cities together - must constantly be maintained.
Traffic has increased on smaller roads between the Kurdistan Region's two largest cities of Erbil and Sulaimani after Iraqi forces took control of Kirkuk in October 2017. Though the roads through Kirkuk are better quality, many Kurdish drivers choose not to pass through areas of Iraqi control.
Construction on a planned two-way road between Erbil and Koya has been halted since a financial crisis struck the region in 2014 and forced the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take austerity measures to reduce spending.
According to Hunar Nuri, general director of the Kurdistan Region's roads and reconstruction department, the total cost for building the Erbil-Koya road is estimated to be around $337 million (436 billion IQD) and will take two to three years to complete once the budget has been provided.
Nuri called on the people of Smaquli to cooperate and wait for the Erbil-Koya to be completed.
"The realistic solution is for the Erbil-Koya road to be completed... Once that is done, everything will be resolved," said Koya mayor Tariq Haydari.
The KRG has spent millions on infrastructure and service projects, including on the Erbil-Koya road.
The road at Smaquli remains blocked to heavy vehicle traffic as of Saturday afternoon, with protestors complaining that government authorities have not reached out despite their days-long blockade.
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