First Phase of Erbil's Heavy Water Recycling Project, Valued at (288 Million Dollars), Commences Implementation

Today, Tuesday, February 17, 2026, Omed Khoshnaw, Governor of Erbil, received a high-level delegation from the Japanese JICA agency at the Governorate Diwan, led by "Taketsuru Iko," Deputy Director of the said agency in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
 

At the beginning of the meeting, discussions focused on the "Erbil Heavy Water Recycling Project" and addressing the issue of sewage in Erbil city. The first phase of this project, valued at (288 million dollars), will soon commence implementation by the Japanese JICA agency to resolve the sewage water problem.
The project is one of the strategic and important projects of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the largest environmental infrastructure project in the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
 

The first phase of the project will extend (75 kilometers), and the water wasted from homes will be purified once again and reused for parks and gardens, while sewage systems will be constructed in a modern manner. It is also planned that after the first phase, the second phase will begin implementation with a budget of (300 million dollars).
 

The benefits of this project include reducing environmental pollution, preventing the mixing of sewage water with the Greater Zab River and groundwater, and using it for irrigating trees around Erbil as a green belt. In this regard, the Governor of Erbil highly appreciated the work of the said agency and thanked the Japanese government and JICA for their past and present cooperation with the institutions of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and for their ongoing assistance.
 

He also highlighted that, generally, the steps taken by Japan and the JICA agency for implementing service projects are always highly valued. In the past, they have implemented several projects in the fields of water, sewage, and other services.
 

He also stated: "Within the framework of the Kurdistan Regional Government's policy, we aspire for the existing coordination and cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and Japan to further advance. We desire that, through mutual coordination and benefiting from the expertise of Japanese specialists, more service projects be implemented and greater opportunities be provided for Japanese companies to operate in the Kurdistan Region, and that relations between both sides be further developed."