Iraq has set strict terms for awarding projects involving the construction of five new residential cities to avert a recurrence of previous project delays, the country’s Construction and Housing Minister was quoted on Monday as saying.

Benkin Rikani, who heads a government committee for the building of those cities, said details of developers finalised would not be revealed till the government is convinced they are fully capable of finishing the entire project.

“We have set serious technical, financial and legal criteria for the awarding of the contracts for the five new cities….we will not announce the name of any developer picked for such projects before they prove they can meet those criteria and can finish the project till the end,” Rikani told the Iraqi News Agency.

Rikani said each project is divided into four phases and comprises thousands of houses and apartments, adding that phase 1 must be completed within two years.

The five new cities, which are part of a post-war plan to tackle a housing crisis, are located in the capital Baghdad, Karbala and Babylon in Central Iraq, the Western Al-Anbar Governorate, and Nineveh in the North.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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