• Iraqi PM Mustafa Al-Kadhemi inaugurated the rebuilding of Mosul International Airport.
• The conflict caused a lot of damage to the airport, and it hasn’t been used since ISIS took over Mosul in 2014.
• A provincial official mentioned a $266 million budget for rehabilitation projects in 2021–2022.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi on Wednesday inaugurated the rebuilding of Mosul international airport, which remains in ruin five years after Daesh was ejected from the city during a struggle.

Since Iraqi forces with help from a US-led international coalition took back Mosul in July 2017, large parts of the northern metropolis have been in ruins.

The conflict caused a lot of damage to the airport, and it hasn’t been used since ISIS took over Mosul and the surrounding area in 2014.

In a formal ceremony held at the airport in the southern suburbs of Mosul, Kadhemi laid the cornerstone for its renovation.

Haider Ali, who is in charge of the airport, says that the job of rebuilding has been given to two Turkish companies and will take 24 months.

Despite the glacial rate of rehabilitation, the 1.5 million-person metropolis has regained a sense of normalcy: businesses have reopened, traffic jams have returned, and international organisations are sponsoring the restoration of historic landmarks.

But big obstacles remain.

The Red Cross estimates that by the end of 2021, 35 percent of west Mosul households and less than 15 percent of east Mosul residents will have sufficient water to meet their daily needs.

Kadhemi was quoted in a statement from his office as saying that “huge efforts” were being made to rebuild the city.

According to the Iraqi news agency, a provincial official mentioned a $266 million budget for major rehabilitation projects in 2021–2022, particularly in the health, education, and transportation sectors.

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