$10 M to construct bridges, road in Muthanna

MUTHANNA / IraqiNews.com: Three projects to set up two concrete bridges and a 12-km road have been initiated in Muthanna province at a cost of over 11.5 billion Iraqi dinars, a local official said on Monday.   “The bridges will be constructed in the districts of al-Majd and al-Sobar and the road will link al-Hilal district to the Shanafiya-Samawa intersection,” Engineer Kamel Maghoul Nino told IraqiNews.com. The concrete al-Majd Bridge, on which work began early this month, is financed through a World Bank loan to Iraq, Nino said, noting that it lies on the Euphrates River and links al-Majd district to neighboring areas. The bridge will help ease traffic congestion and will be completed within 24 months, Nino noted. Work on another bridge on the Euphrates River (12 km southeast of Samawa city), with a scheduled completion period of 18 months, began a few days ago, he pointed out. The third project is to establish a road at a cost of nearly $2.68 million, funded through a Japanese loan to Iraq and World Bank allocations. The project is scheduled to be completed within 360 days, Nino added. Muthanna, 280 km south of Baghdad, is bordering Saudi Arabia. Its capital is Samawa. It was the first Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. On July 13, 2006 British, Australian, and Japanese forces handed over security responsibility for Muthanna province to Iraqi forces. Prior to 1976 it was part of the al-Diwaniya province. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruin of Uruk, which is possibly the source of the name Iraq.     SS (S)/SR 1