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South Korean construction company Hanwha has not yet resumed work on Iraq’s largest residential project after Baghdad defaulted on payments for the developer.
Iraq awarded the 'Bismaya' project near the capital Baghdad to Hanwha in 2015 and the $7-billion city was to be completed in 2019.
But Hanwha stopped working on the project after it constructed 30,000 of the 100,000 houses because of the delay in payment of its dues.
“According to the agreement, Bismaya was scheduled to be finished in 2019…but the project was delayed due to several factors including security problems and the delay in the payment of the company’s outstanding dues,” said Hanan Jassim, a spokesperson for Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC), which had awarded that project.
Jassim said NIC is coordinating with relevant authorities in Baghdad to resolve the financial dispute with Hanwha, adding that a new agreement is needed with the developer for the construction of the remaining 70,000 houses.
When completed, Bismaya will accommodate nearly 600,000 people and is one of several residential cities planned by Iraq to tackle a festering post-conflict housing crisis.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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