Kurdistan is expected to complete the USD 176 million Jehan City residential project at Erbil by 2015, an official source at the region's investment authority told Zawya.
Dr. Kamran Al-Mufti, director general of the contract evaluation and authorization department of the Kurdistan Board of Investment, said the Jehan City project was part of license No. 7, which was granted by the board in January 2012.
"The total project area stands at 37,000 square meters and includes 6,000 housing units to be developed over a three-year period, which started from the date of licensing," Al-Mufti said.
In earlier reports quoting Nibras Al Khazragy, advisor to Iraq's minister of housing, Zawya mentioned that the country has around 61 housing projects that will offer medium-cost residential units, in addition to 50,000 low-cost homes.
"However, the country is in urgent need of more than three million housing units by the end of this year in order to address the current housing problem," Al Khazragy said, adding that "there is a real gap between projects that we acquire and those that we can realistically complete each year."
Al-Mufti said local contractor Jehan Group has been specializing in the construction of residential cities and is responsible for carrying out the project. Aside from residential houses, the development will also involve the construction of commercial centers and schools.
Mohamed Salman Mohamed, economist and professor of finance at the Salahuddin University's Faculty of Management and Economics, said the project highlights the growing demand for new and better accommodation options in the Kurdistan region.
He added that the latest residential developments in the area are expected to "activate commercial operations and stimulate economic activities in the region."
Mohamed is also optimistic about the potential of real estate projects to drive growth in the domestic home rental market in particular, and the nationwide economy in general.
© Zawya 2013
