Construction is getting under way to build a $2.7 million fish market and a $2.4 million meat market in al Kut, WasitProvince. USACE photo by Alicia Embrey.

A new $2.7-million, 1,500-square-meter fish market will include space for 24 fish shops with cold storage, a cafeteria, coffee shop, central courtyard, exterior sidewalks and parking lot.

Located nearby will be a new $2.4-million 2,000-square-meter meat market housing 25 butcher shops with cold storage, coffee shops, central courtyard with two fountains, exterior sidewalks and parking lot.

“Those two new facilities will provide a real boost to al Kut’s economy,” said Iraqi Engineer Hussein Sabry with the Gulf Region Division. “They will employ 300 people and most importantly, with the cold storage capability, residents will know they are getting a quality product.”

Sabry is a lifelong resident of Wasit and very proud to be part of the effort in helping the city move forward.  “The markets are part of an urban planning initiative developed by the Wasit Provincial Council, the al Kut Municipality Office Director General, and coordinated with the Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team,” he pointed out.

Construction on both projects is scheduled to be completed next spring.

More than 638 projects, including roads, schools, water treatment facilities and primary healthcare clinics, have been completed in Babil, Karbala, Wasit, al Qadisiyah, and in Najaf provinces over the past year, valued collectively at about $700 million.