$27M shortfall threatens key Kurdish water project
Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah
A major water-supply project in Al-Sulaymaniyah remains stuck at 20 percent completion due to a $27 million funding gap, a local official said on Sunday, warning that the delay threatens water security for tens of thousands within months.
Ramak Ramadan, administrator of Chamchamal district, told Shafaq News that the Goptapa–Chamchamal Water Project has completed all technical and administrative requirements, but cannot advance without the overdue financial allocations from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the province’s authorities.
“The project was awarded on June 30 last year and work is ongoing,” Ramadan said. “Only the financial allocations remain to be secured.”
He described the project as one of Chamchamal’s most critical infrastructure needs, designed to supply large parts of the city and surrounding areas.
Chamchamal district, covering six sub-districts, 440 villages, and 57 directorates, has faced chronic water shortages for years. The situation escalated during the summer of 2025, when parts of Al-Sulaymaniyah went without piped water for up to five days, forcing mosque closures, disrupting daily life, and sharply increasing reliance on tanker trucks, residents said.
The KRG says the Goptapa Water Project carries a total investment of roughly $87 million. Once completed, it will produce 3,400 cubic meters of treated water per hour. Ramadan earlier told Kurdistan24 that the project could resolve Chamchamal’s water shortages “for the next 50 years.”
According to project documentation, the system includes a water-intake unit, a central pumping station, a treatment facility, a secondary pumping unit, and a major storage reservoir. A 58-kilometer transmission line will carry treated water from Goptapa to Chamchamal. The project is intended to serve the city and 20 nearby villages.
Al-Sulaymaniyah’s broader water crisis has accelerated investment in parallel initiatives. In October 2025, the KRG signed the Dukan–Al-Sulaymaniyah 3 project, valued at $423.89 million, which the Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism says will support the province’s water needs for the next 30 years.
These efforts come in the wake of one of the driest years recorded in the Kurdistan Region. By early May 2025, Al-Sulaymaniyah had received only 350 millimeters of rainfall – almost half of the previous year’s 671 millimeters.
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