Kurdistan Region approves nearly 200 projects to build 175,000 housing units

Mustafa Shilani 2021/09/07 21:31

Mohammed Shukri, head of Kurdistan Region’s Investment Authority. (Photo: Archive)

Kurdistan Kurdistan Erbil Investment Infrastructure Housing

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s head of the Investment Authority announced on Tuesday that his agency had granted nearly 200 licenses for projects to build 175,000 housing units, stressing that the autonomous region aims to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of construction materials.

Mohammed Shukri’s statement came in a speech during his participation in the opening ceremony of the Real Estate and Investment Exhibition, which kicked off the day at the Erbil International Fair with the participation of 150 real estate companies from the Kurdistan Region, neighboring countries, and the Gulf.

"We have granted work permits to 112 construction industry factories in various fields with capital exceeding 4 billion US dollars, which are iron, alabaster, and cement factories,” he said.

"Currently, most of the materials that are used in construction are produced in the Kurdistan Region. We aim to reach self-sufficiency for building materials.”

He went on to say that the commission and the KRG have prepared a draft of a law governing the extraction of minerals in the Kurdistan Region. The draft, he said, is currently before the Council of Ministers and is expected to be sent soon to the regional parliament for final approval.

Shukri noted that 194 projects were issued with work permits to build 175,000 housing units. Currently, he added, roughly 60 percent of the units have been completed, 25,000 of which were supported by a housing fund for those with low incomes.

He also indicated that there are 80 other new projects in the works, stating, "Until the end of this year, we will address the problems of all the unfinished projects that have had problems, on which work will resume again soon.

Workers began the second phase of a massive ongoing highway project in the Kurdistan Region's capital of Erbil also resumed on Saturday.

The first stage of the project focused on building 14 kilometers of road, starting from the town of Bahirka to the Koya road. The highway is expected to be completed in 2022.