Iraq is planning to build its largest sustainable city in Karbala, which will soon be debated by the local government as part of an environment protection plan, a local newspaper said.

Al-Zahra University in Karbala has prepared preliminary designs for the project and has sent them to the competent authorities for discussion, the official Alsabah newspaper said on Wednesday.

“It is the largest in Iraq and the first in Karbala…it is intended to protect the environment after a large expansion in urban population and projects, which reached farming areas….this is posing a serious threat to the local environment,” said the Centre’s Director Nazim Abdullah.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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