Iraqi government should consider more dams to prevent rivers vanishing: Iraqi engineer

The reconstruction sector in Iraq is facing critical challenges, mainly corruption and the lack of governmental follow-ups and planning, which in turn is jeopardising the country and depriving it of international loans, the director of a famous Iraqi engineering consultancy company, Midhat Zwayen, told The New Arab during an exclusive interview.

Decades of war and corruption have made Iraq face serious infrastructure and environmental problems, including poor water quality, soil salinity, air and water pollution, climate change impacts and the threat of water shortages.

Iraq ranked 157 out of 180 countries in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index in 2022.

The New Arab interviewed Midhat Zwayen, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Dijlah Consulting Engineers. Established in 1993, the company was awarded multiple projects such as hospitals, roads and bridges, water treatment plants, and electrical transmission and substations. The company has been involved in major infrastructure projects throughout Iraq, such as the new building of the Central Bank of Iraq and the Imam Ali Shrine extension. 

"Corruption is a big challenge; the Iraqi government needs to address that as soon as possible because if it continues, the funders will not fund Iraq forever," Zwayen said. "The private sector in Iraq is fragile; we do not deal with corruption because that would ruin our reputation, especially at the consultancy; we have no interaction with any kind of corruption, which is why we are famous in the international community."

Regarding how they did their projects in Iraq, he clarified that they focus on international and bank funds, indicating that most of the mega projects in Iraq have been funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOCA), or the United Nations.

Water scarcity in Iraq is not just a local issue; it's a warning of the serious consequences of climate change, poor management, and outdated practices. The situation calls for urgent action and adaptation to prevent further devastation. A global lesson we must not ignore. pic.twitter.com/Bu2P6lKGTP

— Emma Hendriks (@Emma1Hendriks) July 31, 2023

He said the bank controls funds by those agencies, and the Iraqi government or the militias cannot impose their will on how the funds should be spent.  

He said his company had been kicked out from some of the projects with the Iraqi government because, as he opined, "We rejected certain behaviours they do."

Zwayen said that according to his sources, although JICA funded some finished projects in Iraq years ago, now the agency is not ready to give loans to the country because they do not feel the Iraqi government takes care of the money they gave them, like follow-up on the projects.

"Iraq's infrastructure is devastated; Iraq needs international funds to help us rebuild because we do not have experience, knowledge, and technology, and that is how we try to mediate with the Iraqi government," he noted. 

Despite spending billions of dollars on energy projects in Iraq, the country still suffers from total blackouts and mainly depends on neighbouring Iran to import gas for generating electricity. Utilising renewables, especially solar, is to the minimum. 

Authorities said a fire at an electricity substation in southern Iraq triggered a nationwide power outage Saturday just as demand peaks amid the searing summer heat."Renewable energy takes time to build and needs experience that we lack. Any Iraqi government prioritises power generation for now because it cannot survive without it," Zwayen stressed. 

Most housing projects in Iraq are still not benefiting from new technologies of heat isolation. Hence most of the country's energy and power generation is lost in cooling systems in summer and warming the houses in Winter. "Iraq's Engineers Association has all these specifications and have submitted it to the Iraqi builders, but again builders often disregard it as it costs more and because of corruption they keep the money for their pockets", Zwayen outlined regarding the issue.  

Regarding Iraq's environmental issues, specifically water pollution, he said Iraq's main two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, "are too polluted, first because we dump sewage to the rivers and lack sewage processing projects. Secondly, we are losing water flowing to wash away the sewage to the ocean. As Iraq's population has increased to 41 million, this is crucial and should be addressed. Otherwise, our rivers will die soon."  

The two rivers are on the brink of running dry, as Turkey and Iran restrict water flow to Iraq.

"Following 2003, none of the Iraqi governments came up with an idea on how to deal with this, except for blaming the neighbouring countries; they will not do everything for you because they manage water efficiently, and we don't. Again, the situation deteriorates in Iraq because of corruption," Zwayen said."Turkey and Iran's excuses for restructuring the water flow might be somehow logical when they say we flow the water for you and what you are doing with it and why you waste it."

"To deal with this issue, Iraq must build more dams to keep the sewage flowing into the ocean. Iraq needs to reconsider building the Bekhme Dam. I do not know why they do not reconsider it, and finishing this dam should be the priority of any Iraqi government," he added.

The Bekhme Dam is an unfinished multi-purpose dam on the Great Zab 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Erbil in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. 

The dam's primary purpose was to produce hydropower and manage flooding in Iraq. Construction on the dam started in 1979 but was halted permanently due to wars and the Western embargo on the country. Following the 1991 Kurdish uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdish ruling parties smuggled all reconstruction tools and power-generating turbines at the unfinished dam to neighbouring Iran. 

Provincial elections have been scheduled to take place in 15 Iraqi provinces on 18 December, but many Iraqis are reluctant to renew their biometrics to participate in the vote. 

Regarding Iraq's democracy, Zwayen stresses that "until now, leaders in Iraq, from a general manager to the president or the prime minister, did not understand the concept of democracy; it is linked to the economy, you need to have an open economy and an open investment."  He also emphasised that Iraqi leaders think democracy means "you do what you like."

"That is not true; in a democracy, there are rules; if we don't have a strong understanding of democracy, then we will see militias in Iraq, just as we see it now," he added.