In an official ceremony on Tuesday 27 April, 2021, Minister of Construction and Housing Dana Abdulkareem laid the foundation stone to mark the start of construction on the Simela underpass project in the province of Duhok.

The Ministry of Construction and Housing is making progress with its reconstruction efforts, announcing that the paving of the Khalifan-Balisan and Bahirka-Jazhneekan roads was on schedule. The project is led by the Erbil Directorate of Road and Bridges and will significantly improve traffic as part of major road infrastructure investments the government is making across the Kurdistan Region.

The Erbil and Duhok project is a strategic project spanning over 38 kilometres of distance between two major hubs in the Kurdistan Region. The project will help in efficiently reducing travel time between the Duhok and Erbil provinces and support trade between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey.