Iraq Agrees on Housing Project Pact With U.A.E.’s IIAJ

Iraq agreed on a $245 million contract with the United Arab Emirates’ IIAJ Ltd. to build 1,083 housing units in the southern region of Diwaniya, according to a provincial official.

The project, the al-Zahra residential compound, will be built within two years on the southwestern side of Diwaniya city, Majid al-Mehanna, spokesman for the Diwaniya Investment Commission, said by telephone today. The province needs 100,000 residential units, he said.

Iraq, which holds the world’s fifth-largest reserves of crude oil, is seeking foreign investment to help rebuild an economy and infrastructure damaged by years of war, sanctions and underinvestment. Iraq plans to spend $4 billion on housing through 2016 to reduce the housing shortage, Construction and Housing Minister Mohammad Saheb al-Darraji said May 21.

To contact the reporter on this story: Khalid Al-Ansary in Baghdad at kalansary@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net