23 August 2023; MEMO: Iraq has approved plans for the construction of 15 new residential cities across various governorates of the country as part of efforts to address the post-war housing crisis, according to Zawya, citing the official Arabic language daily Alsabah.
The initial report quoted a spokesman for the Iraqi Construction and Housing Ministry, Nabil Al-Saffar, who said the new cities will be linked by a network of motorways and other facilities and would also comprise of “university cities.”
“The ministry has approved the construction of 15 cities in various governorates in Iraq…we expect that within five to six years, these cities will be completed,” he said.
Based on ministry estimates, Iraq will require at least four million houses within the next five years in order to resolve the residential deficit, brought on by political and economic instability and high population growth.
Designs for at least five of the planned cities have been completed, leaving the designs for the remaining ten on offer for prospective developers. One of the new proposed cities will be situated near the former Sadr City, previously known as Saddam City. Preliminary designs for the project have been put together by a consortium of three Arab companies.
Last week, Egypt Today reported that Egyptian construction firms are currently in talks to build a number of projects in the 15 new cities.
