Iraq's education ministry halts $400 million fence renovation project

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Ministry of Education on Tuesday denied that a planned renovation of the exterior fence around its headquarters has been put into effect, saying the estimated 400-million-dinar project was never moved past the proposal stage. Ministry spokesman Karim al-Sayyid said in a written statement that the project had been among proposals submitted during the period of the caretaker government in response to requests from relevant departments. He said newly appointed Education Minister Abdul Karim Abtan ordered the project halted and directed that Education Fund revenues be safeguarded under existing regulations. Al-Sayyid stressed that no technical or contractual phase of the project had been completed. The ministry said fund resources will be directed toward the needs of the education sector and that spending will proceed within that framework. It added that Abtan remains committed to principles of transparency and fiscal restraint. No further details on the project's origin or the timeline of the proposed fence renovation were immediately available.