Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s National Investment Commission has selected Karbala as the first province to launch an initiative to distribute one million residential land plots, with Najaf, Maysan and Baghdad expected to follow once preparations are complete.

In a statement, the commission said a subcommittee tasked with developing the initiative’s economic and financing model had approved several measures, including asking the Central Bank of Iraq to exempt participants and supporting financial institutions from requirements related to the financial efficiency platform to facilitate financing.

The plan also allocates 200-square-meter plots to real estate developers and requires them to provide all necessary infrastructure in coordination with municipal authorities. Additional land will be offered in northern and southern provinces, while technical requirements will be tailored to the economic model and feasibility study for each project.

In Kirkuk, Provincial Council Chairman Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Hafidh told Shafaq News that authorities were working to complete land allocations under the initiative and remove obstacles to implementation.

Earlier this month, a senior official at the Ministry of Construction and Housing told Shafaq News that Iraq will open applications for its one-million residential land plot project at the beginning of October.

According to official data from the Federal Board of Supreme Audit in 2025, Iraq faces a housing shortage of about five million units, despite successive governments launching numerous housing projects and initiatives since 2003 that have largely failed to close the gap.

Read more: Iraq's housing deficit outlasts another government plan