Hanwha Expected to Return to Iraq's Bismayah Housing Project

A new road map has been put in place for the continuation of work on the the giant Bismayah New City project on the outskirts of Baghdad. According to a statement from the National Investment Commission (NIC), South Korean company Hanwha is expected to sign a revised contract in the coming weeks, following meetings with a trio of state-owned banks - Rasheed Bank, Rafidain Bank and the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI).

The project involves the building 100,000 residential units and associated infrastructure on a 1,830-hectare site, at an estimated cost of US$10.1 billion. Korea Herald previously reported that around 45% of residential units and 29% of social infrastructure has been completed. In August, the then-Chairwoman of the NIC, Suha Daoud Najjar, said that the NIC has specified "a number of legal and financial conditions" to proceed with the development, adding that the NIC was waiting for a reply from the company.