The Cabinet holds the regular session, decisions included

INA - BAGHDAD

The Cabinet held the 7th regular session on Tuesday, chaired by PM Muhammed S. Al-Sudani discussing general issues in the country along with key economic and service-related files. 

The session also reviewed the progress of government program priorities, deliberated on agenda items, and made necessary decisions, stated the PM's Media Office in a statement - received by the Iraqi News Agency - INA.

Regarding official working hours for government institutions and universities, as well as measures to address traffic congestion in Baghdad, the Cabinet approved the following:

1. Revoking Clause (First/D) of Cabinet Decision No. 24213 of 2024, restoring university working hours and granting university councils the authority to determine their schedules based on academic requirements, starting March 2, 2025.

2. Changing working hours at the Ministry of Oil headquarters to 7 AM – 2 PM, instead of 9 AM – 4 PM.

3. Adjusting working hours for the Ministry of Science and Technology departments to 7 AM – 2 PM.

4. Exempting the Cinema and Theater Department in the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities from the ministry’s official working hours.

5. Adjusting the working hours for the Diwan of Christian, Yazidi, and Sabean-Mandaean Endowments to 7 AM – 2 PM.

6. Forming a technical team headed by the Deputy Chief of the Advisory Board in the Prime Minister’s Office, with representatives from Baghdad Operations Command, the Baghdad Governorate (Technical Affairs), the General Directorate of Traffic, the State Company for Passenger and Delegation Transport, the State Company for Private Transport Management, the Projects Department in the Baghdad Municipality, and the Roads and Bridges Department in the Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Public Works. This team will gather data on traffic congestion, study vehicle movement patterns, propose solutions for smoother traffic flow, and submit periodic reports to the Prime Minister.

7. Reinforcing mass transit use by granting employees a 30-minute grace period for clocking in and out if they use public transport.

8. Accelerating road repairs in Baghdad through coordination between the Baghdad Municipality, the Roads and Bridges Directorate, and the General Directorate of Traffic.

9. Coordinating between the Ministry of Higher Education, the Baghdad Municipality, and the General Directorate of Traffic to find solutions for student parking near universities, especially private institutions, to prevent traffic congestion and accidents.

The Cabinet also approved the finalization of 5,903 job positions allocated in previous budgets for top graduates and holders of higher degrees.

In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, the Cabinet approved reducing working hours by one hour daily, with ministries authorized to implement the reduction at the start or end of the workday, effective March 2–March 31, 2025.

The Cabinet reviewed progress in hospital construction projects and approved the recommendations of the Steering Committee (Diwani Order No. 45 of 2018), aimed at resolving stalled hospital projects, as outlined in the Ministry of Planning’s report dated February 10, 2025.

To complete delayed projects and improve infrastructure, the Cabinet approved the following:

1. Increasing the contingency amount and total cost for Component P1R (transmission pipelines) under the Basra Grand Water Project – Phase 1.

2. Increasing the contingency amount and total cost for the rehabilitation contract of the Baghdad-Karbala Road (from Dallah Roundabout to Checkpoint 54 in Karbala).

3. Increasing the contingency amount and total cost for constructing a road linking Qaraj Subdistrict/ Hawshter Lalok to Makhloot Al-Safina Road in Nineveh Governorate.

4. Increasing the contingency amount and total cost for constructing an 18-classroom model school in Hit District, Anbar, listed under the project to build five model secondary schools in Anbar (Fallujah, Ramadi, Karma, Hit, and Al-Qaim).

To ensure a steady supply of dry gas for industrial plants under the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, the Cabinet decided:

1. Allocating 90 MMSCFD (Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day) to the State Company for Southern Fertilizers for the Abu Al-Khaseeb Plant.

2. Allocating 65 MMSCFD to the State Company for Northern Fertilizers for a new integrated nitrogen fertilizer production project.

3. Allocating 20 MMSCFD for the State Company for Mishraq Sulfur to rehabilitate and operate Phase 1 of its sulfur refining project, and 60 MMSCFD for Phase 2.

4. Allocating 60 MMSCFD to the State Company for Phosphate for a fully integrated phosphate complex project.

5. Allocating 37.5 MMSCFD to the State Company for Glass and Refractories.

To support power sector projects, the Cabinet approved the conversion of the Qayyarah Gas Power Plant from simple-cycle to combined-cycle operation and authorized the State Company for Northern Electricity Production to proceed with awarding the contract to ARGAN INT after finalizing procedural requirements. The contract mandates using U.S., European, Japanese, or Canadian-origin components.

Similarly, the Cabinet authorized the Ministry of Electricity to award and sign an EPC contract for the Dora Thermal Power Plant project, valued at $480 million, excluding supervision and monitoring costs. 

In return, the contractor will waive its claim to a sovereign payment guarantee of $808.345 million previously issued by the Ministry of Finance. The contract is exempt from government procurement rules under the Federal Budget Execution Law and Government Contract Execution Instructions (No. 2 of 2014).

The Cabinet also approved two bills:
1. The Anti-Migrant Smuggling Law
2. The Law on the Prohibition of Torture and Inhumane Treatment

After legal review by the State Council, both bills will be submitted to Parliament in accordance with the Constitution, incorporating feedback from the Legal Department of the General Secretariat of the Cabinet.