About 15% of Sulaymaniyah neighborhoods still unconnected to water network, official says

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — Roughly 15% of neighborhoods in Sulaymaniyah remain unconnected to the municipal water network, a spokesperson for the city's water directorate said. Spokesman Aman Jalal attributed the gap to a financial crisis that has delayed water projects, adding that work would begin once funds are released, with older neighborhoods given priority. Rapid urban growth in recent years has expanded the number of areas without piped water, the directorate said, while broader infrastructure investment has also stalled under the same funding pressures. In the interim, water tankers are being used to supply affected neighborhoods, though a fuel shortage has disrupted their scheduled operations. The Sulaymaniyah Water Directorate has urged the Kurdistan Regional Government and relevant institutions to allocate the necessary budget quickly to address the service shortfall. No further details on a timeline or funding amount were immediately available.