Iraq has approved the construction of 15 new residential cities in various parts of the country within a post-war drive to resolve a housing crisis, the official Arabic language daily Alsabah reported on Wednesday.

The 15 cities are located in several governorates and will be linked by a network of motorways and other facilities, the paper said, quoting Nabil Al-Saffar, a spokesman for the Iraqi Construction and Housing Ministry.

Saffar said these projects would comprise vertical and horizontal units besides infrastructure and services, hospitals and “university cities.”

“The Ministry has approved the construction of 15 cities in various governorates in Iraq…we expect that within five to six years, these cities will be completed,” he said.

Al-Sabah, citing Ministry estimates, said Iraq needs to build at least four million houses within five years to bridge a residential supply gap caused by internal hostilities and high population growth.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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