>Like a beacon of hope, the pristine precast concrete towers of Bismayah, Iraq, rise more than 100 feet out of the desert six miles southeast of Baghdad. The new city, roughly the size of 3,425 football fields, will contain a central business district surrounded by 834 U-shaped apartment towers, schools and social amenities. It will provide a new start for 600,000 Iraqis.
>To say Iraq has an acute housing shortage is an understatement. The country is about 2/3 the size of Texas, but has a population of 38 million compared to about 28 million for Texas (1). Baghdad, Iraq’s largest city, is home to 9 million people. In Baghdad’s most populated neighborhoods, it’s common for 31 people to live in a one-bathroom home intended for use by a single family (2).
>South Korean engineering and construction firm Hanwha E&C was awarded the massive task of planning, designing and producing 100,000 apartments in just five years. They then had to determine how to get the job done.
>Bismayah is located 10km from the capital and is the pioneering new city for Iraq’s future. It is being developed and delivered by the Government’s National Investment Commission (NIC).
>Dream City is laid out as a ring of towns surrounding an extensive, central business district. The towns will hold a total of 834 residential towers, and in each of them, buyers can choose from three sizes of apartments – 100m2, 120m2 and 140m2.
>The apartment designs are either Modern or Traditional. Towers are designed to be either wholly of modern or traditional design, and they alternate for harmonized effect throughout the city plan.
>In 2010, NIC began early planning for Bismayah, working with Hanwha E&C. Their cooperation led on to Hanwha E&C taking on responsibility for the planning and design of Dream City.
>Building began with at the residential zones – entirely as apartment towers – and then site work began on the social infrastructure (including schools). For these tasks, Hanwha E&C has two initial turnkey contracts with NIC, signed in mid-2012 and early 2015; the contracts are valued at approximately US$8 Billion (with an escalator clause) and US$2.1 Billion, respectively.
>Hanwha E&C’s leadership has shown strong commitment to the project, investing much resource and manpower to establish, maintain and push ahead with Bismayah project despite the dangers and challenges in post-war Iraq. It recognises that the Dream City is a vital new step, and catalyst, in the country’s vision for the future.
>Residential units are available in sizes of 100, 120, and 140 square meters, and come in two main types: >the Traditional Type, which preserves Islamic values in everyday life, >and the Modern Type which boasts efficient use of large communal spaces.
>Housing units will be offered for a down payment of only $6,300, with the rest being paid over a term of 20 years. >Flats in Baghdad in comparison are far pricier, and buyers are required to pay for the apartments in one lump sum.
