Grassroots Human Security Grant Aid to Iraq (Governorate of Al-Muthanna)

March 22, 2005

Last month, the Government of Japan decided to extend to the Governorate of Al-Muthanna a grassroots human security grant aid for the roads in the city of Samawah (total length: about 15.65 km). This project is about to begin on a full scale, and the groundbreaking ceremony took place at the project site in the city on March 19 (Sat). Attending the ceremony on the Iraqi side were Director of the Department of the Al-Samawah Municipality and Al-Samawah Council Chairman, and on the Japanese side, officials of the Liaison Office in Samawah of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and members of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces (JGSDF).
The basic infrastructure of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna is particularly underdeveloped compared with other parts of the country due to such factors as the oppression under the former government, the economy battered by the war with Iran, the economic sanctions after the Gulf War. Roads and bridges are therefore in extremely poor condition, hampering the smooth traffic of water tank trucks or emergency vehicles and directly affecting people's daily lives. School-commuting roads also need to be improved. To remedy such a situation, it has been decided to provide funding (totaling about 1.21 million dollars or about 133.09 million yen) for the Department of the Al-Samawah Municipality to asphalt the roads in the city of Samawah (total length: about 15.65 km), which was already graveled by the JGSDF.

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