Since mid-last year, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s government has been discussing a series of new residential city projects in Baghdad and the provinces to alleviate the housing crisis and the spread of informal settlements. Meanwhile, the country lacks a paved road network and sufficient electricity, water, and gas services to meet the growing population demands of recent decades.
With traffic congestion exceeding all expectations, particularly in the capital Baghdad, the Ministry of Planning confirmed on Tuesday that Iraq needs more than two million housing units to resolve the housing crisis.
It is noteworthy that influential entities have entered the housing complex construction sector, now controlling vast areas within Baghdad, causing the price per square meter in some residential cities to exceed seven million dinars ($5,000).
Ministry spokesperson Mohammed Abdel-Zahra Al-Hindawi told “Al-Alem Al-Jadeed” that “there is a genuine and serious approach to addressing the housing crisis within feasible time frames.”
He added, “Given the current population of 43 million across Iraq, we will need at least two to two and a half million housing units to meet this demand. There is a plan to build sixteen new residential cities, three of which are in Baghdad: Al-Jawahiri City, Ali Al-Wardi City, and New Sadr City.”
He continued, “These cities will comprise large numbers of housing units ranging from thirty thousand to over one hundred twenty thousand. They will include all essential infrastructure and services and possibly government offices depending on the city’s size. These cities will be located outside the main design boundaries of Baghdad and the provinces to reduce congestion in the capital and provincial centers, especially those with high population densities.”
Al-Hindawi explained, “The cities will be distributed as follows: Al-Jawahiri City with a capacity of thirty to thirty-five thousand housing units west of Baghdad, Ali Al-Wardi City south of the capital with a capacity of one hundred twenty thousand units, and New Sadr City with seventy thousand units. Most of these projects are investment projects, meaning they will not cost the state money but will instead bring benefits.”
Traffic congestion is a significant issue for Baghdad residents and has been for years, even after field measures were taken to open several vital streets that had been closed since 2003 for security reasons.
These housing complexes are spread throughout the capital, particularly in areas such as Alawi (in front of Al-Zawraa Park), Al-Bayaa, Al-Muthanna Airport Street, Al-Saidiyah, Al-Kadhimiya, Al-Adil, and Mohammed Al-Qasim Highway, where apartments are sold at high prices ranging from $100,000 to $400,000.
In an official letter obtained by “Al-Alem Al-Jadeed” in April, the Civil Aviation Authority addressed the National Investment Commission to limit these complexes, considering some violate regulations, particularly those built near Baghdad International Airport, which could cause numerous issues and obstruct takeoff and landing. However, influential companies ignored these communications and continued constructing residential cities.
Iraq lacks laws regulating the sale, purchase, and rental of real estate, unlike other regional countries that govern this process through legislation, setting annual price increases and ensuring the rights of both parties in rental agreements, with values determined by the state in line with wages and the general economic situation.
According to official data, the number of government-funded housing units built in Iraq since 2003 does not exceed seven thousand. It is also notable that all new residential cities are located in barren areas allocated for this purpose, aiming to end the conversion of agricultural land into residential neighborhoods within and around city centers.
Iraq’s population has surged, exceeding 43 million according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Planning, up from 35 million in 2015.
Economist Salam Semisem noted in a previous report for “Al-Alem Al-Jadeed” that “unplanned or unstudied population growth leads to a scramble for resources, creating a significant gap between population growth and limited resources. The larger this gap, the more conflicts within society, not just competition for jobs, resulting in ongoing chaos.”
Given this, there remains an urgent need to upgrade Iraq’s public road network, considering the increase in traffic accidents and the growing number of vehicles. Modern, paved roads meeting safety standards are essential to curb the rising number of incidents.
