Bismayah New City Project

The Bismayah new city project is the largest city development project in Iraq¹. It is part of the National Housing Programⁱ, which aims to develop approximately 1,000,000 housing units in total across the 15 Governorates². The project’s vision, ‘The Hope of Iraq, the Symbol of Reconstruction’, is anticipated to embody hope for post-conflict Iraq³. Here, the project aims to improve the quality of life of Iraq’s population by addressing the housing shortage crisis caused by the war⁴, and constructing large infrastructure and amenities⁵. The project also seeks to enhance the local economic development by offering commercial and businesses hubs^{6 7}.

To implement the vision of the project, a comprehensive master plan was proposed that extends along an area of 18.3 square kilometers. The site is situated 10 kilometers southeast the capital city Baghdad. The new city consists of a residential area, a central business district, and a social infrastructure area⁸. It features 59 city blocks encompassing 8 towns with a total of 834 apartment complexes comprising 100,080 units. This effectively covers the housing provision for over 600,000 people⁹. In addition to housing units, this city was designed to provide cutting-edge public services, community facilities and services such as healthcare buildings and schools, and commercial areas, as well public spaces and entertainment facilities¹⁰.

The large infrastructure projects are still underway in the new city. These include a high-tech water treatment plant, sewage treatment plants, the road network, sewer lines, and power and energy facilities¹¹. The city’s communication and electrical network is designed within an underground tunnel to protect them from external influences, and at the same time, enhance the visual appeal of the city’s streets¹².

The project is initiated by the National Investment Commission of the government of Iraq¹³, and it was proposed by the commission in 2010 as the flagship development of the National Housing Program in 2010¹⁴.

The master plan is designed and will be implemented by the Hanwha Corporation/E&C¹⁵ with a total construction amount of 10.1 billion USD¹⁶, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Iraqi government and Hanwha E&C in 2011¹⁷. This master plan was approved by the Iraqi government, Land Development Plan, Unit Plan, Mechanical & Electronic Design Plan in 2011¹⁸.

The project will be implemented by Hanwha Corporation/E&C, and the official contract for the construction of the project between the Iraqi government and Hanwha for the construction in 2012¹⁹. The construction started with the residential zones, initially focusing on apartment towers, followed by the initiation of site work for social infrastructure, including schools²⁰.