Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC), in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and the Spanish Embassy in Baghdad, officially launched the country’s first smart automated pneumatic waste collection system (URD) on Saturday, September 26, 2026, marking a pivotal milestone in the modernization of municipal sanitation and sustainable urban management.
The initiative introduces advanced underground vacuum collection networks designed to eliminate conventional curbside dumpsters and heavy collection vehicular traffic across newly planned smart cities and licensed residential investment developments.
Speaking at the launch conference attended by an Iraqi News Agency (INA) correspondent, NIC Deputy Chairman Salar Mohammed Amin affirmed that the adoption of the URD pneumatic network represents a comprehensive national initiative requiring deep cross-institutional synergy between public ministries, municipal directorates, and private developers.
He revealed that the commission has already secured all statutory and regulatory approvals to mandate the underground system within master plans for new satellite cities and residential complexes, establishing a national technical committee alongside the Ministry of Environment to oversee phased execution and enforce strict environmental compliance benchmarks.
Amin emphasized that sustainable investment must transcend structural brick-and-mortar construction to create integrated, livable urban ecosystems that elevate daily public health and quality of life.
He noted that operational success relies on an interconnected institutional network encompassing the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, the Municipality of Baghdad, local governorate authorities, the Ministry of Electricity, and telecommunications operators, working collectively to provide dedicated power grids, subterranean civil infrastructure, and smart sensor integration necessary for automated municipal services.
Spanish Ambassador to Iraq Alicia Rico Pérez del Pulgar underscored that the rollout of the pneumatic vacuum infrastructure represents a substantial qualitative leap toward modernizing waste management practices through cleaner, more energy-efficient technologies.
Highlighting Madrid’s dedication to technical knowledge transfer and bilateral capacity building, the ambassador framed the project as a catalyst for expanded Spanish-Iraqi commercial and environmental partnerships in green infrastructure, renewable energy, and smart city urban planning, calling upon public institutions and private enterprises from both nations to leverage the project into enduring bilateral economic cooperation.