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Iraqi PM Announces Implementation of Projects to Reduce Traffic Congestion in Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)
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Iraqi PM Announces Implementation of Projects to Reduce Traffic Congestion in Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani announced on Wednesday kickstarting the implementation of three initial projects to alleviate chronic traffic congestion in Baghdad.

Speaking to a group of young engineers, Al-Sudani said: “This government is a service-oriented government and has prioritized services across all sectors, including a package of 19 projects in Baghdad.”

“The launch of the three projects is an opportunity to meet with graduate engineers who have not had the chance to secure employment, with the aim of assisting them in finding alternatives based on private sector opportunities,” explained the premier.

Besides Al-Sudani expressing his support for young Iraqi innovators, he affirmed that the country is on the verge of a reconstruction revolution and project announcements.

During a meeting with government officials late last March, Al-Sudani shed light on the daily suffering of citizens due to traffic congestion at Baghdad’s entrances and the failure of the relevant authorities to appreciate the problem’s true magnitude.

He held responsible authorities accountable for delay in implementing traffic-relief projects.

Al-Sudani emphasized that “the situation at Baghdad’s entrances can no longer be tolerated.”

He reiterated the need for “relevant authorities to prioritize project plans, as there are projects that cannot stand delay or procrastination.”

Baghdad, with a population of almost 9 million, is grappling with severe traffic congestion caused by unregulated car imports and a constant influx of people seeking better job prospects.

The road network in the capital has not been updated, starting from its entrances, and financial and administrative corruption has hampered the allocation of the over trillion dollars of oil sales revenue that could have modernized the city's infrastructure, including tunnel and metro systems.

For his part, the Minister of Construction and Housing Bangen Rekani confirmed that the three projects to alleviate the traffic congestion represent a qualitative leap for the residents of Baghdad.

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Senior US Republican Demands Biden Administration Shut Gaza Aid Pier

A US Army soldier gestures as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrive at the US-built floating pier Trident before reaching the beach on the coast of the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP)
A US Army soldier gestures as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrive at the US-built floating pier Trident before reaching the beach on the coast of the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP)
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Senior US Republican Demands Biden Administration Shut Gaza Aid Pier

A US Army soldier gestures as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrive at the US-built floating pier Trident before reaching the beach on the coast of the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP)
A US Army soldier gestures as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrive at the US-built floating pier Trident before reaching the beach on the coast of the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP)

The Republican lawmaker who leads the House Armed Services Committee has written to the Biden administration formally demanding it shut down its aid pier off the coast Gaza, calling the operation ineffective, risky and a waste of money.

The offshore floating pier, announced by Biden in March as a response to the threat of famine in the Gaza Strip, was constructed off the coast of the enclave by the US military as a way to bring in food and other aid supplies.

The US military has been authorized to operate it until the end of July, but a US Agency for International Development official said this week that the administration could seek to extend it for at least another month.

"I urge the Administration to immediately cease this failed operation before further catastrophe occurs and consider alternative means of land and air-based humanitarian aid delivery," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers wrote in a letter seen by Reuters.

The letter, sent to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has not been previously reported.

Rogers has long opposed the pier and has called in the past for it to be dismantled, but he had not previously expressed that view in a formal written letter to the administration.

His armed services committee is the Pentagon's top oversight body in the House of Representatives, and formal requests from its chairman traditionally require a response from Pentagon officials.

Aid first began arriving via the US-built pier on May 17 into Gaza, where nearly all the 2.3 million residents have been displaced by Israel's campaign against the Hamas movement.

But rough seas have damaged the pier, forcing repairs, and poor weather has limited the number of days the pier has been operational. Most of the supplies that have reached the shore have yet to be distributed by UN aid agencies which say their operations have been limited by insecurity.

"As of June 19, JLOTS had only been operational about 10 days and had only moved 3,415 metric tons onto the beach in Gaza," Rogers wrote, using the US military's acronym for the pier system, known as Joint Logistics Over the Shore.

According to US military data, as of Tuesday, 8,332 pallets had been delivered via the pier. But around 84% of them have been sitting on Gaza's coast in a marshalling area waiting to be picked up by the United Nations for distribution.

The World Food Program paused deliveries earlier this month over security concerns.

Reuters was given rare access to the US military-run pier off Gaza on Tuesday and saw aid pallets being moved from a vessel onto the 1,200-foot (370 m)-long pier as it bobbed around with the incoming waves. The pallets were then taken by trucks to the coast.

The operation is complex, involving about 1,000 US military personnel. The Pentagon estimates the first 90 days of operation will cost about $230 million.

Rogers also noted that three US servicemembers suffered non-combat injuries while deployed on the operation.

"I urge the Administration to immediately cease this failed operation before further catastrophe occurs and consider alternative means of land and air-based humanitarian aid delivery," Rogers wrote.