Iraq's Al-Sudani government revives promise of free housing land for families

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's government has announced a plan to provide free residential land to every Iraqi family that does not own a home, aiming to address what officials describe as one of the country's most complex crises. The housing promise carries echoes of earlier projects, particularly the "Dari" initiative launched under Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in 2021, whose results on the ground remain disputed. Former Minister of Construction and Housing Bangin Rekani has previously said the Dari program failed to move beyond electronic announcements and digital applications, with no concrete implementation matching the scale of the pledges. Although high-level government commissions were formed and infrastructure contracts were planned, millions of citizens who registered for the project saw no tangible outcomes in subsequent years. Many Iraqis on social media have pointed to that record, demanding that the new promises translate into deliverable projects rather than repeated announcements. Economic experts have stressed that the success of any national housing plan depends on securing land, infrastructure, financing and oversight, rather than on the scope of the pledges alone. It remains unclear whether al-Sudani's initiative will break the cycle of delayed housing programs or repeat the fate of earlier efforts, and no further details on implementation timelines or funding were immediately available.