Agreement to implement 55 services projects in Najaf

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: The governor of Najaf signed an agreement with the reconstruction team to implement 55 services project throughout the province with a total cost of $11.750 million, the Najaf media director said on Thursday. “Governor of Najaf Asaad Sultan Abu Kalal signed with the director of the office of the reconstruction team of the Multinational forces in Najaf an agreement to implement 55 services projects throughout the province,” Ahmed Daabil told IraqiNews.com. “The projects envisage 15 schools, 20 bridges, 15 arcades and three medical centers,” he explained. Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad , has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq . Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Taleb (also known as “Imam Ali”), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gilded dome and many precious objects in its walls. SH (S) 1