Water Ministry starts negotiations over 2012 budget

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Water Ministry starts negotiations over 2012 budget
26/09/2011 16:37
Baghdad, Sept. 26 (AKnews) - The Iraqi Water Resources Ministry claimed 5 trillion IQD ($4.2 billion USD) annually to implement irrigation projects in the country.

Thus, the ministry drew a line in the sand for the current talks about next year's budget that started yesterday.

The money is needed for the construction and maintenance of dams and for the drilling of approximately 1,000 wells, said Ali Hashim, general director of projects in the ministry.

Iraq is suffering from a two-year-drought. Besides constant negotiations with Turkey and Syria to raise the water level of the Euphrates and Tigris, Iraq tries to improve its irrigation technologies.

Experts recently stated that Iraq is one of the most wasteful of water due to old irrigation mechanisms.

Euphrates and Tigris provide 60, respectively 40 per cent, of Iraq’s water supply.

Reported by Jaafar al-Wannan

RN/CU/AKnews

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/263744/