Assistant Professor Dr. Youssef Sami Farhan

Instructor in the Department of History

Iraqi Reconstruction Council march and achievement.

Establishment of the reconstruction council:

After the end of World War II, the Iraqi state began planning to invest its resources in order to raise the standard of living of the Iraqi individual. However, Iraq did not know success in the field of reconstruction and construction correctly since the establishment of the modern Iraqi state in 1921, except in the establishment of the Council of Reconstruction in 1950.

As before this date, Iraq relied on government programs and ministries’ curricula in following industrial and urban economic policies, as a result of the political, economic and industrial conditions that Iraq was experiencing, due to the constant change of ministries and the inability of the competent minister to work on studying and implementing projects, in addition to the lack of resources that obtain The Iraqi treasury received from the source oil imports due to the foreign companies’ monopoly on oil and the absence of other resources during that period, and after Iraq’s imports doubled, especially after the increase in Iraq’s share of oil following the signing of a new oil agreement with oil companies, it led to activating the role of the Council of Reconstruction, which was A new model in the development planning process for the purpose of collecting information and making plans for construction in Iraq, so the state focused on building infrastructure and developing the country's resources. The members of the Council are: Former Finance Minister Ali Mumtaz Al-Daftary, Minister and retired military officer Jalal Baban, and Minister of Transportation and Works A. The Prince of Azari, in addition to the American engineer, Mr. Nelson, and the British advisor, Sir Miller.

The council's objectives focused primarily on defining the funds spent for development, as well as defining the international financial and economic policy to advance the urban and industrial reality in Iraq, and setting a platform for the implementation of multiple projects and proposals for new projects.

Council of Ages Achievements:

     The Council for Reconstruction has completed several large development and service projects, of which Iraq still retains a large part. Among the important projects that it focused its attention on and allocated a large part of its budget to are irrigation projects to avoid the danger of floods and save the city of Baghdad from drowning and destruction. The Council also allocated a large share of its budget The Al-Tharthar project, and it is one of the huge projects accomplished by the Council, and it was opened in 1956 and has the credit for preserving Baghdad and the southern provinces from drowning. The river and the transfer of the excess to Lake Habbaniyah by means of a regulator and a stream constructed for this purpose. In 1959, the Dukan Dam was built, as well as the Darbandikhan Dam and Storage Project in 1961, and the Butma Dam on the Little Zab and the Bakhme Reservoir on the Great Zab. With these projects, Baghdad got rid of the danger of floods that was threatening it. The Council has also implemented several other projects, namely: Al-Qir Refinery: production began in it in 1955, the Cotton Textile Factory in Mosul: the costs of its establishment amounted to 2.5 million dinars, and work began in it in 1957, and a factory Sugar in Mosul: its construction costs amounted to 2.2 million dinars, and two cement factories were established in 1958, the first in Serjnar: its costs amounted to 2.8 million dinars, and production began in 1959. The second is in Mosul, where production was delayed until the last years of the reign of leader Abdul Karim Qassem. It was decided within the council’s plan, which ends in 1960, to establish a paper mill in Basra and an iron and steel mill in southern Iraq, as well as urban and residential projects and the construction of bridges, the most important of which is the Jumhuriya Bridge. The Kufa Bridge and the construction of schools, as their number increased after the establishment of the Council and the allocation of funds for education affairs by the state, which built approximately 760 primary schools, as well as industrial projects, the construction of railways, model farms and drains, and the installation of electric power generation stations and others. These projects were distributed in all governorates Iraq, preparing a modern plan for the city of Baghdad that contains a housing project, including the Baghdad University project, and the construction of the opera house, which was not completed.

When the revolution of July 14, 1958, there were several projects under construction, such as Medical City, Karkh Hospital, Kadhimiya Hospital, Parliament Building, and Baghdad University Building in Jadriya. They were implemented, as well as other projects that were suspended due to the revolution: such as the Opera House, the new Baghdad airport, hotels and a large sports stadium for soccer Al-Qadam and others, with several other projects distributed to the other governorates of Iraq, all of this clearly reflects the pioneering role of the Council of Reconstruction in drawing and implementing rational economic, industrial and urban policies that were preparing for Iraq to enter the era of modernity and social progress.