Iraq Turns Infrastructure Investment Into Decent Jobs and Local Recovery

The guidance draws on employment-intensive investment projects already carried out in Iraq, giving institutions a foundation grounded in local experience.

Repairing a road, restoring drainage or improving water infrastructure can give communities better services and provide much-needed paid work for people struggling to earn a living. Iraq is taking steps to connect these priorities through new technical guidelines launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and its governmental and development partners in Erbil on 9 September, supporting wider use of public investment to create decent employment.

Supported by the Government of the Netherlands through the PROSPECTS partnership, the guidelines offer Iraqi institutions practical guidance for building job creation, fair working conditions and inclusive, climate-resilient infrastructure into public works projects. The initiative responds to the damage that decades of conflict and instability have inflicted on infrastructure, institutions and livelihoods, with refugees, displaced people and vulnerable host communities facing significant barriers to employment and economic security.

Building on More Than 82,000 Workdays

The guidance draws on employment-intensive investment projects already carried out in Iraq, giving institutions a foundation grounded in local experience. Between 2021 and 2025, interventions supported by ILO PROSPECTS in the Kurdistan Region and Nineveh governorate generated more than 82,000 workdays and benefited over 1,400 jobseekers, combining infrastructure rehabilitation with green works that supported environmental sustainability and climate resilience.

Duhok Deputy Governor Majid Sayed Salih welcomed the fact that the guidelines reflect lessons from projects delivered during the first phase of PROSPECTS, expressing interest in applying that experience more widely. The approach brings local employment into the repair and development of roads, buildings, drainage, agricultural facilities and water infrastructure, with fair wages, safe working conditions and timely payment treated as essential parts of project delivery.

Moving Towards a National Public Works Programme

The launch supports efforts to develop a National Public Works Programme that could take successful local approaches to a larger scale. Bertrille Snoeijer, Deputy Consul General of the Netherlands in Erbil, described the experience gained through PROSPECTS as a strong foundation for expanding employment-intensive projects and strengthening the ability of government institutions to deliver more inclusive and sustainable public investment.

Bashar Al-Samarneh, ILO PROSPECTS Project Manager in Iraq, explained that the guidelines bring together operational knowledge and practices developed through more than a decade of employment-intensive investment across the Arab States. Iraq's model has been refined through implementation and integration into government-led public works, creating a practical resource for policymakers and project teams as the country works towards a more structured national programme.

Turning Guidance Into Projects Communities Can Use

An ILO technical workshop following the launch brought together government representatives, social partners, UN agencies and implementing organisations to examine how the guidelines could be used in public programmes. Group discussions covered policy, institutional responsibilities, capacity, technical application, integration throughout the project cycle, monitoring and accountability; participants' contributions will inform the final guidelines and recommendations for adoption. Ahmed Mohammed Hassan Al-Farraji, Head of the Experts Team at the Ministry of Planning, highlighted the opportunity to use lessons from Kurdistan Region projects to support a broader public works programme.

Iraq's progress forms part of a wider regional effort that has generated around one million workdays over the past two years through ILO-supported interventions in Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Those projects have employed thousands of refugees, displaced people and host-community members, including women and persons with disabilities. Connecting immediate paid work with improvements to infrastructure and public services gives this approach a role in humanitarian response, longer-term development and peacebuilding.