There are more obstacles than solutions.. The housing sector in Iraq: The need for more than 5 milli

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[size=52]There are more obstacles than solutions.. The housing sector in Iraq: The need for more than 5 million units and investment is not met[/size]

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12-07-2023
The housing sector in Iraq suffers from an inherited accumulation of more than 3,000 slums in which nearly 4 million citizens live, and the requirements for decent living are low, as half of these slums are clustered on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad, and the other half in the country’s cities, according to a chief advisor. Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh.[/size]
[size=45]Saleh adds, “There is a need within the national housing policy adopted by the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to provide 3 million housing units, which is the primary concern of the government program.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “Based on the tasks and duties stipulated in the Iraq Development Fund system, which consists of 6 sub-funds, one of which will be allocated entirely to housing projects.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains, “The new housing philosophy will stipulate that the fund will purchase ready-made housing units, which will be implemented by investors in new cities and urban areas, which will then be allocated to citizens according to income levels, and will be paid in comfortable installments over long periods.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains: “The urban project will include the country’s governorates and target those who do not have housing, starting with decent, low-cost housing and gradually moving upward.”[/size]
[size=45]Fertile investment environment, however[/size]
[size=45]For his part, a member of the Parliamentary Services and Reconstruction Committee, Mahma Khalil, points out that “Iraq needs 5 to 6 million housing units to fill the deficit in the housing sector, and although the investment environment in Iraq is fertile and pristine, it contains obstacles and obstructions.”[/size]
[size=45]Khalil adds, “Since the reputable international companies in the housing sector ask for security to bring in their investment, as (capital is cowardly), there is also a deadly routine in conducting investors’ transactions, in addition to blackmailing investors with sums of money or placing obstacles in front of them.”[/size]
[size=45]He confirms that “the political blocs, when they are present in the investment site, impose conditions on the investor, in addition to the lack of guarantee for their legal rights, and the lack of facilities for them,” indicating that “the biggest obstacle is the banking system and banking services, as the investor cannot move his money freely, therefore There is a reluctance to invest in Iraq as a result of these obstacles.”[/size]
[size=45]He reveals, “The corrupt people who stole public money resorted to laundering their money through investment and building real estate, and most investment projects are used by political blocs for electoral propaganda, whether for provincial or parliamentary elections.”[/size]
[size=45]Among the other reasons that contributed to the real estate crisis, Khalil says, “The administrative borders of the municipalities have not been expanded since 2005 until now, which led to the non-distribution of lands to citizens, which caused the real estate crisis to increase as a result of the increase in population numbers.”[/size]
[size=45]He asserts, “There is a need to amend the investment law to suit the Iraqi environment, and when I was head of the Services Committee, I called for the legislation of the trespassers and slums law, which does not harm either the state or the citizen, by providing legal cover for the trespassers spread throughout all Iraqi cities.”[/size]
[size=45]He notes, “On the condition that they do not trespass on green spaces, distinct plots, and road prohibitions, but this law was read first and second, then the government withdrew this law, and now it has become one of the forgotten laws.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “I also asked - at the time - to transfer the experiences of countries that have developed civilized and radical solutions, by building vertical complexes, built at the expense of the state and given to the citizen, just as Egypt and others did, since it is the state’s duty to provide housing free of charge to citizens, and this is what was stipulated.” The Constitution has it, but previous governments failed to provide this constitutional right.”[/size]
[size=45]Investment projects do not fill the need[/size]
[size=45]In turn, a member of the Parliamentary Investment and Development Committee, Hussein Al-Saabari, says, “The housing crisis in the country is great, because the required number of housing units is not proportionate to the investment projects, as the resulting shortage is estimated at more than 3 million housing units, while the investment projects do not exceed One thousand or 1,500 housing units.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sabari added to Shafaq News Agency, “This large gap between the required housing units and the number of investment projects causes an increase in demand for housing units, which led to an increase in their prices, in addition to the investor’s lack of commitment to the economic feasibility provided by the national authorities and the governorate authority.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Saabari calls on the investment authorities in the governorates and the National Authority to “tighten follow-up and take measures that include packages and warnings and not to give another opportunity if investors - who are the majority - do not adhere to the economic feasibility that includes the cost of building a square meter and the selling price, and because of the negligence of the national authorities in this regard, it led to a rise in the prices".[/size]
[size=45]Diwaniyah needs more than 50 thousand housing units[/size]
[size=45]In this context, Diwaniyah Governor, Maitham Abdul-Ilah Al-Shahd, says, “Establishing residential complexes is a new idea in Iraq and requires time to be satisfied with the housing units the governorate needs to meet the needs of citizens.”[/size]
[size=45]During his speech, Al-Shahd noted that “the establishment of residential complexes faces obstacles, most notably the lack of land, as there is a lot of land belonging to the Ministry of Finance that is unexploited, and the governorates do not have the authority to refer it to investment,” calling on “the Ministry of Finance to provide additional lands to the governorates so that they can provide Residential complexes".[/size]
[size=45]He confirms, “The actual need for Diwaniyah Governorate is more than 50,000 housing units, but the available lands that have been used to construct residential complexes in it are less than 10,000 units.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The Ministry of Finance was requested to allocate plots of land to establish residential complexes in the governorates for a period of 6 months. If the lands are not invested within the specified period, the Ministry of Finance will withdraw these lands.”[/size]
[size=45]He explained, “This opportunity contains a kind of enticement and intimidation, as the residential units must be implemented within 6 months, which prompts investment circles to invest in them within the specified period.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shahed calls for the necessity of “limiting the distribution of land plots that lack services to employees, because they have become a commodity for buying and selling, which has affected the prices of land plots in the markets. Rather, the lands are initially developed by the investor, and when they are completed with services, they are distributed to citizens.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “what hinders residential complexes at the present time is the lack of services in most governorates, including Diwaniyah. There is no water or electricity for newly established residential complexes, because providing them requires budgets and allocations that the governorate’s budget may not be able to provide for each residential complex.”[/size]
[size=45]While he stressed at the conclusion of his speech the need to “facilitate investment procedures and provide a safe environment for investors in the governorates,” he revealed that “there is a trend in Diwaniyah to create low-cost houses for the poor classes. The government contributes the land, and the investor contributes by creating a house that the citizen can buy.”[/size]
[size=45]20 investment opportunities for housing in Babylon[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the Advisor to the Governor of Babylon for Technical and Reconstruction Affairs, Ali Najm Al-Murayb, says, “The number of investment opportunities in Babylon Governorate has reached 51 investment opportunities, including no less than 20 investment opportunities for housing purposes, between vertical and horizontal, due to the presence of a large shortage of housing units.” In the governorate.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mareb explained to Shafaq News Agency, “There are 300,000 people applying for a residential plot or housing unit in the Hilla municipality alone, and in the Babel municipality there are 200,000 applicants as well.”[/size]
[size=45]He confirms, “There is a tendency to set controls and conditions for investors regarding the prices of residential units, because the investor takes the land at a price similar to a symbolic one or for nothing, so he is supposed to have the prices subsidized for citizens at the prevailing prices, and not what he desires.”[/size]
[size=45]Fronts for money laundering[/size]
[size=45]In the same context, the economic expert, Omar Al-Halbousi, explains that “despite the widespread spread of horizontal and vertical residential complexes in the governorates of Iraq, they have not contributed to solving the housing crisis. Rather, the crisis is still continuing, at a time when the random complexes that citizens have turned to are increasing.” Because of their inability to buy in residential complexes, due to their very high prices, until they became monopolized for a specific class group, while the citizen suffers from a housing crisis.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi explains to Shafaq News Agency, “Note that the land is given to the investor free of charge, in addition to great facilities in the field of importing the materials required for the complex from abroad, in a way that guarantees him to provide housing units at reasonable prices, but these complexes impose exorbitant prices that the citizen cannot afford.” "The Iraqi."[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “In addition, most investors value the land, which was essentially given to them for free, and add its price to the building, and this is a violation of the investment law, and this is due to the absence of oversight over these complexes, which have become fronts for money laundering affiliated with influential party bodies in the government, which resorted to this investment because “Fastest implementation and most profitable.”[/size]
[size=45]He adds: “Especially after the American restrictions on money laundering outside Iraq, residential complexes have become a destination for corrupt people who buy houses, villas, and apartments within these complexes, which has caused their prices to rise significantly.”[/size]
[size=45]He notes that, “More dangerous than that, there are investors who entered the field of investment in the residential sector and they do not have sufficient funds. Rather, they took advantage of the housing initiative to finance their projects to complete them, and government agencies turn a blind eye to this crime against the Iraqi citizen and economy.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “It is the investor’s duty to bring money and invest it, not to exploit the state’s initiatives to his advantage. There are also residential complexes that are scams in which the investor deceives the citizen, by receiving money from the citizen and then stealing this money and fleeing outside Iraq, and this has been repeated.” Cases a lot.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains, “All of these reasons made the housing crisis persist in Iraq, and it was not resolved due to the entry of stolen money into residential investment, and the absence of government oversight, which made real estate prices soar to be limited to a specific category while the citizen was unable to do so.”[/size]
[size=45]At the conclusion of his speech, Al-Halbousi concluded by saying, “The real estate sector in Iraq is living in a state of a price bubble, which I believe is on the verge of bursting, which will cause a major financial collapse in Iraq.”[/size]
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