Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC) announced on Thursday long-awaited housing loans through Rafidain Bank for thousands of eligible Bismayah apartment buyers, following Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s intervention to resolve years of financing delays.

The move followed Al-Zaidi’s visit to the commission, where he directed the Finance Ministry and Rafidain Bank to expedite loan and property-deed procedures and remove administrative and financial obstacles facing applicants.

A meeting subsequently produced an agreement on the financial and technical arrangements needed to release the loans, while the NIC committed to issuing and delivering property deeds for eligible units.

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A source previously told Shafaq News that hundreds of Iraqis seeking to purchase apartments in Baghdad’s Bismayah residential complex had been unable to complete their transactions after the bank suspended housing loans because of a funding shortage. Applicants had also complained about delays in apartment allocation procedures, with some accusing the NIC of imposing an additional “allocation” requirement that they said was not included in their purchase contracts.

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