ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday inaugurated a major water project worth more than $105 million that will supply clean drinking water to over 35,000 people across 53 villages in the Barzan area.

“This is a very important project within the framework of projects that the Kurdistan Region continues to deliver to all areas of the Kurdistan Region without discrimination,” Prime Minister Barzani said during the inauguration ceremony.

The project, located on the Ava Sheen River, includes a 540-kilometer distribution network and a water treatment plant capable of producing 1,200 cubic meters of water per hour. It represents an investment of 138.5 billion dinars (more than $105 million), according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Prime Minister Barzani said he was “very pleased” the project had been completed with the support of “local companies.”

The KRG's ninth cabinet has prioritized improving water management and expanding access to clean drinking water amid recurring shortages, and has launched environmentally friendly projects in recent years aimed at preserving underground water resources.

“I hope that these projects reach every part of Kurdistan, even though many projects like this and bigger in Kurdistan have been implemented,” he said. 

The Barzan project is one of several major water initiatives currently being developed by the KRG, including the $170 million Qushtapa water project south of Erbil and a $423 million project connecting Dukan Lake to Sulaimani's water network.

In April, the KRG completed the $480 million Erbil Emergency Water Supply Project, the largest water project in the Kurdistan Region. The project supplies 480,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day and is intended to secure Erbil's water supply for decades.