Iraq projects linked to end of Hormuz crisis — TradingView News

By N Saeed

Iraq will not approve any new projects or investment plans before the end of the Hormuz crisis and resumption of full oil exports, a senior official has said.

Mudhar Saleh, financial adviser to the prime minister, told Qatar’s Aljazeera news TV channel that the 2027 budget would be the most difficult budget in Iraq’s modern history due to the deepening liquidity crisis.

“The government in the 2027 will give priority to paying wages to public servants, pensions and social aid…there will be no allocations for new projects or investment plans before the end of Hormuz crisis,” he said.

Saleh revealed that that there are plans to enact new laws to organise borrowing to fund the budget, which will be based on “performance and results” rather than the size of spending.

Ministries will be required to submit “accurate” reports on their expenditures and the exact number of their employees before they get any funds, Saleh said.

In comments this week, a member of parliament’s finance committee, said the draft 2027 budget would be submitted to parliament in late October or early November.

Jamal Koucher said the actual deficit could be higher at the end of 2027 if oil prices were low and Iraq’s crude exports remain restricted due to the curbs on shipping through Hormuz, a major oil outlet for Iraq and other Gulf oil producers.

“The 2027 budget will be based on performance and programmes…but there will be no allocations for new projects except for 20 trillion Iraqi dinars which will be allocated for the completion of stalled projects,” he said.

(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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