Baghdad given makeover as repairs kindle guarded optimism — in pictures

Large investment and overseas help have helped to reinvigorate public spaces and infrastructure

The Iraqi government has been laying sewage and water pipes across Baghdad and repaving roads. All photos: Reuters

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani is pushing to improve services for citizens weary of years of conflict and government neglect

The infrastructure works have been buoyed by high oil prices and the relative stability the country is enjoying

The government has been improving roads, bridges and pavements, as well as removing security checkpoints that had made congestion worse

It has also been cleaning up the facades of buildings damaged by war and revamping parks and promenades that hug the Tigris River

Electricity supply has also improved but disruptions are expected to return in summer as consumption peaks

The country's recent stability has opened it up to tourists, mostly from Arab states

One of the main projects is a 2.5km corniche along the Tigris, next to Abu Nawas park

Fitted with running and cycling lanes, benches and public bathrooms, it has received throngs of visitors since it opened this year

Many Iraqis said the changes were the most significant they had seen since the 2003 US invasion

However, they still fall short in a country that made more than $115 billion from oil sales in 2022 and suffers from rampant corruption

The current works are being financed by a budget of $400 million, with Baghdad also seeking help from abroad

More from The National:

UK hands back 6,000 antiquities borrowed from Iraq 100 years ago

Germany to help protect Iraq's water supplies from climate change threat

Iraq's ancient pottery industry struggling in a modern era — in pictures

Changing environment affects Iraq's honey production - in pictures

Volunteers rebuild Iraq's destroyed homes one at a time