Soran spends ID82b, still needs ID70b more to solve problems – mayor

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: The year 2009 was one of development and infrastructure projects worth 82 billion Iraqi dinars ($69.5 million) in Soran from Arbil’s Provincial Development Budget (PDB) but the district would need 70 billion dinars more to solve all problems, according to Mayor Kermanj Ezzat on Sunday. “The sum was spent over projects that focused on the fields of health, services, education and roads,” Ezzat told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The health sector grabbed the lion’s share of the 2009 budget as it absorbed 114.33 million Iraqi dinars, followed by educational services with more than 873 million Iraqi dinars,” he said. Ezzat noted that the PDB of the year 2010 has not been approved yet. “We’re still waiting for allocations by the planning ministry in the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG) after the budget for Arbil is okayed,” he said. Soran, one of the largest districts in the northern Iraq Kurdish city of Arbil, has a population of 170,000 and lies over 22,000 square kilometers. It is 120 km in northeastern Arbil. Arbil the capital city of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan RegionG, lies 349 km northeast of Baghdad. AmR (P)/SR 1