Iraq’s Kirkuk cement factory, the country’s largest, has resumed operations following a major environmental overhaul, Shafaq News reported on January 7, citing the Kirkuk Environment Directorate. 

Many industrial facilities in Iraq face a lack of environmental awareness and threaten public health due to gas emissions, smoke, and other pollutants due to years of underinvestment and poor maintenance. The work to upgrade the 45-year-old plant comes as Iraq continues to go out of years of underinvestment due to the US invasion and occupation of the country and subsequent civil war and the prior Saddam Hussein regime, which purposefully focused investment in and around Baghdad and his home area of Tikrit. 

The factory’s management has implemented some upgrades, including installing a new dust control system and pollution monitoring equipment. After an environmental inspection and tests, the directorate ensured that the factory had successfully applied sustainable pollutant standards and significantly improved the dust filtration systems.

"The commitment of factories and companies in Kirkuk to not pollute the environment helps reduce air pollutants and improve the environment in general," Ali Ezzedine Khurshid, the Kirkuk Environmental Director, commented. 

The factory was shut down in mid-November last year and fined IQD 450mn ($343,351) due to non-compliance with environmental standards. Also, residents of Lailan protested against the adverse health effects the factory’s pollution was causing, including accusations of poisoning the local population and vegetation.

The maintenance included improving dust treatment units. New air pollutants (TSP) measurements were taken to ensure industrial activities meet the required environmental criteria.

In August 2024, the Iraqi Oil Pipelines Company restarted oil pipeline supplies to the Kirkuk Cement Plant as part of wider rehabilitation work.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Oil at the time, the pipeline, inactive for over three years, is now fully operational.

Ali Abdul Kareem Al-Moussawi, the General Manager of the Oil Pipelines Company, stated that technical and engineering teams completed the maintenance and rehabilitation of the pipeline, Iraq Oil News reported. 

The Kirkuk Cement Factory was established in 1980 by a Japanese company. It was known for producing high-quality cement in the country.