Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan region will receive 450 new schools under a Chinese-Iraqi agreement, a press release by lawmaker Soran Omar revealed on Thursday. 

The press release said an agreement had been reached with the parliamentary investment committee to include Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok in the first phase of the Chinese-Iraqi agreement.

"The first phase will involve the construction of 1000 schools in all Iraqi governorates, with 450 schools allocated to the Kurdistan region," Omar said, "the second phase will involve the construction of 3000 schools, with another 450 schools allocated to the Kurdistan region."

Omar added that the second phase is set to be announced by the federal government in May 2023 and that the first and second phases are expected to be completed by the end of the current year.

Iraq's war to oust the Islamic State devastated the country's infrastructure, including schools. The government estimates 12,000 new schools are needed nationwide. It recently signed contracts with two Chinese firms to build 8,000 of them. The project is expected to take up to eight years, with the initial phase – constructing 1,000 schools – now underway.