New designs for three cities; foreign firms invited to submit tenders

 

By Mohammed al-Yasseri

 

Azzaman, 2004-12-09

 

New designs are planned for three cities in the country as part of a drive to modernize Iraqi cities, according to a senior Planning Ministry official.

 

“Our office has begun drawing designs to modernize the cities of Kirkuk, Hilla and Kut,” Riyadh al-Wazir said.

 

Wazir heads the Planning Ministry’s section dealing with city planning which he said had received 5.7 billion dinars for the job.

 

He said foreign firms were invited to take part in tenders on designs for these cities.

 

Several foreign firms have taken part in a previous tender to develop the holy city of Najaf, Wazir said.

 

The interim government has allocated millions of dollars to develop Najaf where fighting between Muslim Shiite insurgents of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and U.S. troops were engaged in fierce fighting several three months ago.

 

Wazir said his department’s plans included the drawing of new designs for most Iraqi cities.

 

Most Iraqi cities lack modern sewage systems and suffer from chronic shortages of basic public amenities.

 

Oil revenues in the 1970s and 1980s fuelled a reconstruction boom across the country but most of the development was haphazard and poorly planned.

 

“We want to give each city its special Iraqi identity,’ Wazir said.

 

Wazir said his engineers were drawing on experience collected by world organizations such as U.N. Development Program and the World Bank.