Iraq Plans To Build 2.5 Million Homes By 2016

Iraq’s Construction & Housing Minister Mohammed Al Derajy told the MEED Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) this morning that Iraq plans to build a total of 2.5 million homes by 2016. He said the housing programme must, however, address major challenges. “We need to prepare a maintenance body and an approach to maintain our housing complexes,” Al Derajy said. “We need to provide land with infrastructure. Our human resources need to be trained properly to work on housing projects.”

“We need to use our oil revenue in housing projects. We are talking about using oil revenue directly by asking oil companies to build housing and which they would charge for over their oil production period.”

Al Derajy said that the Iraq government is to increase financial resources that could be used in housing projects. “We hope to raise the Housing Fund’s capital to $1bn this year,” he said. “The plan is for 40% to go to individuals and 60% to big projects.”

“We also need sites for low cost housing,” Al Derajy said.

He said that housing investment budget would be increased in 2013. “Our budget will be doubled at least by 2016,” Al Derajy said. Iraq aims to raise oil production to 6 million b/d by then but Iraq will need brigding finance for the interim period.

A Derajy said that the Iraq projects sector is open to international firms. “The most important things is to attract foreign companies to build housing,” he said.