The Municipal Projects Committee in the northeastern Iraqi province of As Sulaymaniyah has approved spending ID6.3bn ($5.3m) on six projects in and around the capital city.

The projects will be funded through unused funds from 2009’s regional development budget.

Inside As Sulaymaniyah city, development will include a women’s shelter, a new park in the Bakhtiari neighbourhood and a sports field for the Joajra Preparatory School for Girls.

Outside the city, work will begin shortly on a sanitation project in the Sayed Sadeq district. The second phase of development on a large botanical garden in Rania city will follow, with the construction of a youth center in the Khallikan district in late 2010.