Iraq’s Ministry of Health has released details about the construction of 16 hospitals, each with a 100-bed capacity, to be built across different provinces as part of an oil-for-projects agreement between China and Iraq.
The 20-year framework agreement, signed in 2019, stipulates that China will finance infrastructure projects—including schools and hospitals—in Iraq in exchange for crude oil.
Ministry spokesperson Seif Al-Badr informed the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the construction contracts for these hospitals are nearing finalization and will be carried out under the direct supervision of Health Minister Saleh Mahdi Al-Hasnawi.
The locations for the 16 hospitals are as follows:
- Al-Imam Al-Sadiq District, Basra
- Al-Muqdadiya District, Diyala
- Al-Khalidiya District, Anbar
- Tel Kaif, Nineveh
- Baiji District, Salah al-Din
- Saddat Al-Hindiya, Babel
- Al-Jadwal Al-Gharbi, Karbala
- Al-Khader District, Muthanna
- Al-Haydariya District, Najaf
- Souq Al-Shuyukh, Dhi Qar
- Al-Majar Al-Kabir, Maysan
- Al-Abbasi District, Kirkuk
- Al-Aziziyah District, Wasit
- Al-Bdeir District, Diwaniya
- Al-Zaafaraniya, Baghdad (Rusafa)
- Al-Shoala, Baghdad (Karkh)
Al-Badr stated that the hospitals are expected to be completed within three years of the start of construction.
A report from Zawya Projects in January 2024 confirmed that Iraq is planning to establish these 16 hospitals across 15 governorates as part of the oil-for-projects agreement with China.