May 31 2012

Gigantic housing project inaugurated in Baghdad

By Ali Shattab

Azzaman, May 31, 2012

Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki has laid down the foundation stone for a gigantic housing project that will provide decent homes for nearly one million people in Baghdad.

The new project is a new city by itself as its first stage includes the construction of 100,000 housing units.

The project will be implemented by the South Korean firm Hanwha.

A statement by Maliki’s office said: “Let us make this large service and construction project an example to be followed in all the country’s provinces. It was not easy to start such a project and negotiations with the Korean side took a long time.”

The statement said the original plan calls for building 200,000 housing units in Baghdad and kick start large housing projects in the provinces so that the country will have at least 1 million new housing units by 2017.

The government sells the new homes to lower-income groups. Owners can cover the average price of $60,000 for a flat with easy-to-pay monthly installments.

The statement said squatters and families without decent housing in Baghdad will be given preferential treatment to start a new life in the new city.

Iraq currently faces severe housing shortages and needs are estimated at 1 million new homes, the volume the government says it is determined to provide in five years.

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