2026-05-23T18:41:32+00:00

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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.

Read more: Crushed dreams, rising demand: Iraq’s deepening housing crisis

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.

Read more: Dollar volatility and cash shortages freeze Iraq’s housing and car markets