Baghdad governor says 30,000 dunams ready for PM's one-million-plot housing plan

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Baghdad Governor Atwan al-Atwani announced on Tuesday that the allocation process for 30,000 dunams of land has been completed under Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaydi's initiative to distribute one million residential plots. The governorate said Baghdad has moved ahead of other cities in preparing land for the program. The land is divided across three areas: 22,000 dunams in Nahrawayn, 2,000 dunams in Rashid district and 6,000 dunams in the Nasir al-Salam area. Authorities expect the plots to yield roughly 210,000 housing units, about 20,000 above the city's calculated need. Al-Atwani said the lands carry no outstanding obligations and have been made ready for the prime ministerial initiative. The governor ordered a referral to the State Property Department through the Inter-City Supreme Coordination Council to freeze any existing dispositions on the land. The statement added that alternative sites remain available, contingent on additional steps including ownership transfers, termination of disposal rights, cancellation of agricultural contracts and the lifting of seizure measures by agricultural reform directorates. Al-Atwani also instructed Baghdad's Urban Planning Directorate, Baghdad municipalities and Mahmudiya Municipality to prepare new lands for investment and urban development. No further details on the project's timeline or next phases were immediately available.