More Than 90% of Iraq’s Housing Investment Projects Serve the Wealthy

Iraq’s housing crisis is deepening as more than 90% of investment housing projects launched over the past 20 years have been luxury developments in city centers aimed at the wealthy, former Parliament Services Committee member Bekir Saadi said. He said the current model has done little to address the needs of middle-income families and people living near the poverty line. Saadi said unplanned urban expansion has added pressure on infrastructure and has failed to stop the spread of informal settlements on the outskirts of cities. He called for a new phase of projects outside urban centers that would prioritize low-income and middle-class households. Iraq faces a housing deficit of more than 2 million units, according to the statement, and current policies are not sufficient to close the gap. The remarks underline the scale of the country’s long-running housing shortage and the limits of existing investment patterns.