Iraq's draft 2027 budget earmarks $15 billion for stalled projects

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's draft 2027 federal budget allocates 20 trillion dinars, roughly $15 billion, to complete long-delayed infrastructure and service projects carried over from previous years, officials said. Most of the funding is directed at schemes started in earlier budget cycles but never finished, rather than new initiatives. The draft does not include provisions for new projects, with planners instead prioritizing the settlement of existing commitments. Officials said the approach is designed to clear a backlog of incomplete construction, energy and municipal works that has accumulated over years of underinvestment. The Finance Ministry is expected to submit the budget draft to the Iraqi Parliament for deliberation in the coming weeks. No further details on the legislative timeline or specific project allocations were immediately available. The government has framed the plan as a step toward addressing Iraq's chronic shortfall in basic services and infrastructure, though officials acknowledged that resolving the full backlog will require additional resources and longer-term planning.