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Iraq has blamed South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering and Construction Company for the delay in the completion of its largest housing project.
In a statement published by the local media on Monday, the National Investment Commission (NIC) said Hanwha failed to complete the remaining part of the $10 billion ‘Bismaya City’ in 2020 although it was awarded the project in 2012.
The statement, published by Aliqtisad News and other Iraqi publications, said the contract stipulates that the Iraqi government finances 25 percent of the project and the rest by Hanwha.
“The government paid all the sum of $2 billion just after signing the contract, which stipulates that Hanwha should pay 75 percent...but the company failed to deliver the houses on schedule, resulting in the faltering of the project,” the statement said.
In early 2022, Iraq said it has appointed two foreign firms to investigate financial irregularities that have caused delays in the execution of the 100,000-unit Bismaya City.
Located nearly 10 km southeast of the capital Baghdad, the integrated residential project with an area of 18 square km and population of 600,000 people was supposed to be completed within seven years.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
