Shafaq News- Baghdad
Construction is currently underway on 14 residential complexes across several Iraqi provinces, alongside strategic projects that include 16 new cities, a spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Construction and Housing told Shafaq News on Saturday.
Istabraq Sabah said the most prominent projects under development include Al-Jawahiri City west of Baghdad, which features around 30,000 housing units and 10,000 serviced land plots, as well as Al-Ward City east of the capital with a planned capacity of 120,000 housing units. Al-Ghazlani City in Nineveh province includes more than 28,000 housing units, while the remaining residential cities in the government plan have been referred to private developers under the real estate developer program.
According to Sabah, the ministry is increasingly promoting vertical housing as a planning solution to address population growth and urban pressure, noting that “high-rise residential projects help reduce horizontal urban expansion, preserve agricultural land, ease congestion, and improve service delivery efficiency.”
Iraq continues to face a severe housing crisis, with official estimates showing a shortage of between 2.5 million and 3 million housing units nationwide. The Ministry of Planning said around 4 million Iraqis still live in informal settlements lacking basic services, while Iraq’s annual population growth rate of 2.6% requires the construction of at least 200,000 new housing units each year to keep pace with demand.
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Government data also indicate that 65% of state housing projects were delayed or abandoned as of 2023, further widening the gap between supply and demand. The crisis has been compounded by rising land and construction costs, weak financing mechanisms, and declining purchasing power. In response, the Iraqi government launched 16 new residential city projects and aims to reduce the housing gap by around 50% by 2030 through partnerships with private developers, housing loan programs, and expanded urban infrastructure projects.
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