ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has set aside 200 dunams (about 49 acres) in the center of Erbil to build five public parks and plant 40,000 trees, with all projects expected to be finished by the end of 2025.

Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw told The New Region on Monday that the new parks will expand green space in the city, improve air quality, and provide better living conditions for residents.

The largest of the projects is a park near 120-meter Street that will cover 80 dunams and include about 8,000 trees, with Khoshnaw saying that 70 percent of the work has already been completed. Rashkin Park, which will cover 47 dunams, will include 16,000 trees when finished.

In the Nazdar neighborhood, a four-dunam park with 6,000 trees is 80 percent complete. Another project in the Jian neighborhood will cover seven dunams and feature 5,000 trees, with about 70 percent of the work completed. The fifth park, located at the 150-meter Street intersection, will cover 60 dunams and is still under construction.

Khoshnaw said the five parks are part of a broader plan to improve Erbil’s environment and create more public spaces for residents.

In July, Erbil launched the first stage of its Green Belt Project, a key environmental initiative aimed at expanding green spaces and protecting the city from unchecked urban development.

Two plots of land were allocated on the outskirts, including one spanning more than 1,000 dunams near the 150-meter road and the Bahrka area.

Soil testing is underway to determine the most suitable plants for the area, according to Hemn Sayyid Morad, head of Erbil’s agricultural department.

The KRG said the project will involve large-scale tree planting and the construction of more than 10 water retention ponds. Stretching more than two kilometers behind the 150-meter road, the belt is designed to boost afforestation, address climate change, and safeguard agricultural land from being converted into commercial or residential use.