Baghdad has commenced the construction of 5,200 residential units, a project expected to take between 10 and 24 months, in five localities at a cost of USD 348 million, an official told Zawya.
The project involves building 1,000 residential units in Taji, in the north of Baghdad, 1,000 in Mahmoudiyah, southern Baghdad, and 1,600 each in the Nasr and Salam localities of the Iraqi capital, according to Kamel Al Saedi, technical deputy to the governor of Baghdad.
According to official statistics from the Iraqi ministry of construction and housing, Iraq needs three million residential units to meet demand by the end of 2015. The government is expected to allocate around 40% of the annual budget for 2013 toward housing and Infrastructure projects.
"Iraqi and Turkish companies will carry out the project jointly, and costs will be disbursed as follows: Taji project IQD 150 billion, Mahmoudiyah IQD 75 million, Latifiyah IQD 90 billion, Nasr and Salam IQD 90 billion," Saedi said.
"Investment in the housing sector is vitally crucial as any civil state should be committed to providing appropriate housing for all citizens," said Ayda Fawzy Al Wadi, an economist and professor at the College of Administration and Economics in Baghdad. "Iraq suffers a throttling crisis in housing, and prices and rents have become unaffordable."
Zawya
14 November
