Nineveh governor announces project to renovate 680 homes in Mosul

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Governor of Nineveh on Wednesday announced the start of a project to restore 680 houses on the right bank of Mosul city.

The assignment comes after locals complained of the corpses under rubble and the general state of the city, destroyed during the battle to liberate it from the so-called Islamic State.

Nineveh Governor Mansour Mareed told local media that the reconstruction project would involve “Nineveh’s technical and engineering staff in coordination with local companies…to rebuild and renovate 680 houses in Mosul’s Old City.”

“According to the municipality assessment, the rate of destruction in Mosul’s Old City has reached 90 percent, with the majority of the homes having completely collapsed,” he added.

According to a previous United Nations report, over 21,000 houses on the right bank of Mosul had been damaged or collapsed due to war.

“The project aims to clean the rubble and facilitate the return of displaced people,” Mareed said, adding he expects it to be finished in eight months.”

Mosul’s eastern region witnessed most of the damage in the war against the Islamic State. Although reconstruction efforts began in the past, barely any progress has been made.

Zuhair Aarajy, the mayor of the Mosul district center, said reconstruction in Mosul’s Old City needs continuous work to ensure the area is cleaned and rebuilt. Aarajy told local media that reconstruction would “facilitate investment companies to come forward and revive the city.”

Mosul was liberated from the Islamic State in July 2017 with the help of Peshmerga forces. It requires urgent reconstruction as thousands of people remain displaced from their homes, residing in camps within the Kurdistan Region.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany