São Paulo – The Iraqi government is advancing a partnership project with the private sector to expand schools in the country. According to an interview with the Executive Director of the Iraq Development Fund, Mohammed Al-Najjar, for the country’s state news agency INA, the private sector has already started implementing the “Eduba” project in five governorates.
The private sector will be responsible for the construction of the schools, which will later be leased by the government, thus reducing public costs for these projects, according to an explanation given by Al-Najjar to INA. The forecast is that the first group of schools will be ready within a year, but some investors have promised to deliver the projects in six months, according to the director.
Al-Najjar explained that the school projects were prepared by the investors, through specialized consultants, but that the government appointed a global consultant to ensure they meet educational needs. The implementation of Eduba is expected to provide around 50,000 job opportunities in Iraq and stimulate the local construction materials industry.
School demand
The first phase of this project was launched two months ago by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. However, actual implementation and groundbreaking for the first group of schools are recent. According to Al-Najjar, there are currently 10,000 schools in Iraq, but the demand increases annually, which requires the implementation of projects like Eduba over the next 10 to 15 years.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
