Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a steel silo project on a 12 acre site in Halabja, budgeted at 27 billion dinars (US$21m).

Scheduled to be completed within 2 years, the silo will store up to 40,000 tons of wheat.

Farmers in Halabja have long had insufficient grain storage, resulting in high levels of waste, hence the project. 

Prime Minister of the #Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani met with local farmers from #Halabja on Sunday ahead of the inauguration ceremony of Halabja’s steel silo project.#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/jEr4nPhqiH

— The New Region (@thenewregion) June 30, 2024

“Building this silo is part of our plan for several projects that will in turn create job opportunities,” PM Barzani said at the inauguration ceremony on Sunday.

The project and the KRG’s efforts to enhance the agriculture sector was also praised by Iraqi Minister of Trade, Atheer Daoud al-Ghurairi.

“This plan to enhance agriculture is a critical decision towards building infrastructure,” Ghurairi said, highlighting that such efforts are in line with the federal government’s agenda to strengthen the sector.

#Kurdistan Region PM Masrour #Barzani set the foundation stone of #Halabja’s steel silo project on Sunday. #TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/B4X8Vq1rYp

— The New Region (@thenewregion) June 30, 2024

This was Barzani’s second to Halabja this year.

Barzani’s first visit to Halabja since he assumed office was in February. His first stop was the Halabja memorial, where he paid his respects to the 5,000 lives lost in the Ba’ath regime’s brutal chemical attack on the city in 1988.

At the time, he laid the foundation stone of the Twaghoot bridge project, which links Halabja to Garmian administration, giving farmers better transport links to more markets. 

He also approved a number of government projects for Halabja. Among them were the allocation of a portion of Halabja’s customs revenue for internal use and services, as well as the employment of 500 more people across all Halabja administrative offices.