Iraq’s Budget Includes Large Allocations for Power Projects

Iraq’s three-year budget which awaits Parliament approval includes large allocations for power projects as part of a post-war strategy to end persistent electricity shortages, a government spokesman said.

Bassim Al-Awadi said Parliament needs to urgently ratify the budget to allow the government to embark on such projects after several electricity and renewable energy contracts were awarded to foreign firms in 2022 and previous years.

“There are several strategic projects awaiting the release of the budget…they cover infrastructure and services, mainly electricity,” Awadi said.

The Iraqi government approved the 2022-2023 budget in mid-March and submitted it to Parliament for approval, according to the official news agency which put expenditure for the first fiscal year at nearly $152 billion including capital spending of about $36.5 billion.

Planned investments are way above the $19.6 billion planned in the 2021 budget, which last federal budget to be approval by Parliament as there was no budget in 2022 due to political turmoil in the Arab nation.