KRG to build temporary bridge on Erbil-Kirkuk road
"The Kurdistan Regional Government is very serious regarding reopening of this road," Abdulkhaliq Talaat, chief of Erbil police who represented the Interior Ministry at a meeting with Baghdad officials, said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The KRG delegation met with Rakan al-Jabouri, acting governor of Kirkuk, and other Iraqi officials from Baghdad to discuss options to restore normal traffic on the route between the Kurdistan Region capital and Kirkuk.
The bridge was damaged on October 20 in clashes between the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces. The road was closed until Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi decreed it opened in June.
Traffic, however, is limited to just one lane across the bridge and the structure remains unstable.
The KRG will pay for the construction of a steel bridge and will wait for Baghdad to provide funds for a permanent bridge that will take eight months to be built and cost one billion Iraqi dinar ($838,000), according to the Kurdish delegation. It is expected the temporary bridge can be in place within a month.
Though governments on both sides of the river want to see the route functioning normally, discussion points still remain to be resolved.
“There are some technical issues regarding customs which is related to the federal government, plus where control points should be,” Talaat said.
The Iraqi government has requested access 300 to 400 metres within Kurdistan Region territory. The Peshmerga rejected this.
“All the forces will stay where they are,” said Salar Brifkani, a Peshmerga representative who attended the talks on Tuesday.
The two sides will meet again on Sunday to discuss management of checkpoints.
Currently, there are three Iraqi checkpoints and one Peshmerga checkpoint along the Kirkuk and Erbil border.
The Erbil-Kirkuk road is a key road connecting Erbil to Kirkuk and Sulaimani provinces. The road is also important for trade between the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq.
Rudaw
