Shafaq News/ Ministry of Planning announced on Thursday its intention to extend the five-year development plan for two more years until 2016, indicating that the "unstable" political and security situation was behind this extension.

The  spokesman of the planning ministry Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi said to "Shafaq News" "The Ministry of Planning determined to extend the five-year development plan to two years ending in 2016."

The Iraqi government announced on 28 April 2010,that  the Cabinet decided to ratify the five-year national development plan for the years (2010-2014) as the final revised by the Ministry of Planning and taking the amendments proposed by some ministries into consideration.

"The plan that was supposed to start, in 2010 and end in 2014 is the first short-term development plan after 2003, and all Iraqi ministries participated in the formulation and preparation of it ." Hindawi said , adding "the most important reasons to extend the plan to the year 2016, is the reluctance of ministries in the implementation of development projects because of security and political conditions experienced by the country in recent years."

According to the professionals of the Iraqi economy who explained earlier, the success of the five-year plan, ratified by the Iraqi government depends on the mechanisms applied, citing fear of the negative impact of political interactions taking place in the country for the possibility of success in their application.

The investmental program of the plan includes more than 2700 projects distributed on sectors and activities of all parties and in all provinces at a cost of $ 186 billion over five years to implement the plan, funded by the federal budget as well as through local and foreign investments in activities that have been identified.