18 September 2019
Iraq intends to include the Baghdad metro project in its 2020 budget so it will be launched on schedule next year, the official Alsabah newspaper said on Wednesday.

The Planning Ministry has approved a request by the Baghdad Governing Council to include the project in the 2020 budget, which will be issued later this year, the paper said, quoting Nizar Al-Sultan, chairman of the planning commission in the Council.

"The Planning Ministry has sent an official letter to the cabinet to include this strategic project in the next state budget," Sultan said.

He said Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi would meet officials from France's Alstom Company and South Korea's Hyundai soon to "put the finishing touches" on the project following an initial agreement to award them the contract.

In comments last month, Sultan said the project could be completed within five years after signing the contract with the two French and South Korean firms, adding that Iraq has paid nearly $42 million for design and consultancy studies.

Iraqi officials have estimated the project's cost at 1.5 billion dollars and said it could be offered as an investment, post-payment basis or partnership with the private sector on a 20 percent profit-sharing agreement.

The Baghdad Metro has been blocked for several years because of the country's cash shortages caused by internal hostilities and weak oil prices.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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