The Kurdish government has plans to construct some 2,000 residential units in the Yezidi town of Shingal in 2018 in coordination with the Iraqi government, said a minister.
"The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has a particular plan for Shingal town which is the construction of 2,000 residential units to the people of the town," Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, minister of the Housing and Reconstruction of the KRG, told Anadolu Agency, adding that the economic crisis was the underlying reason in the way of reconstructing the war-wrecked areas.
Rasul added to start the project "the KRG has coordinated with Iraq's reconstruction [bank] and we hope it is put into effect starting from next year."
He also said the international community is ready to help reconstruct these areas which were damaged during the ISIS rampage.
He said it is believed that Germany will provide $500 million to Iraq to start reconstruction projects, of which the KRG will have a share to reconstruct areas under its control.
Shingal fell to ISIS in August 2014 before it was liberated by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in November 2015.
Thousands of Yezidis were killed while thousands of others were taken captive.
The town saw massive destruction at the hands of the group and displacement of thousands of Yezidis, in addition to a genocide and kidnapping.
He also said the economic crisis which gripped the KRG deterred them from carrying out any projects to the Kurdistani areas outside the Region's administration.
"Unfortunately, we have not had a budget to earmark to reconstruct the Kurdistani areas outside the Region's administration which were recently liberated form ISIS," he said.
Rudaw
