Cash-strapped Iraq will benefit from UK loans totaling £10bn ($12.3bn) over a 10-year period under a 5 March MoU. The finance is towards rebuilding infrastructure in areas liberated from Islamic State (IS) control, the final bill for which will dwarf even this figure.

Announcing the UK loan facilities, Iraqi Acting Finance Minister ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-‘Isa said the funds would be used to finance water, sewage, electricity, healthcare and transport projects, exclusively allocated to British companies involved in reconstruction of provinces devastated by the IS insurgency. Interest on the loans will be set when the infrastructure contracts are finalized, he adds. (CONTINUED - 1128 WORDS)