New housing project for displaced people

Men in blue overalls laying the concrete foundations of new apartment buildings in the hot noon-day heat are the new face of Iraq's largely stalled reconstruction effort. They're slapping concrete between the boards of the foundations to hold them together. Piles of steel girders rest between the foundations, along with sacks of dry cement. The construction site, off a highway just north of Baghdad, is a hive of activity with men wiring together metal stanchions and mixing cement. Engineers stand in the sparse shade of a nearby building watching over the construction crews. The new housing project appears to be the first major housing construction in Iraq in over a year, according to figures from the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction. Previously, Coalition forces had cleaned up and repaired some bombed buildings. They've hired contractors to rebuild walls, patch roofs and put new fixtures in the bathrooms of ministries and some other government buildings. All told, however, construction projects - whether residential or commercial - that were on the drawing board or under way when US-led forces swept into Iraq 14 months ago have been stalled until now. When it's all finished, the almost 300 new units will be the start of the housing needed for an estimated 70,000-100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were kicked out of houses in northern Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Most were living in former Iraqi army bases and other unused government buildings. The project cost was originally estimated at US $4.7 million; it could now be twice that because of increases in the prices of materials in the last year, said Sabah Sablir, general manager of the project. US administrators are paying for the construction, he explained. "The housing issue is an enormous one here," Omar al-Faruk al-Danaluji, the new minister of housing and reconstruction, told IRIN in Baghdad. "Even when we finish all of the residential projects we have planned, it will only represent 1 percent of the housing we need." There are an estimated one million displaced people in Iraq, with some 800,000 in the north, according to official statistics. More recently, fighting in the city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, also increased the numbers of displaced as homes were destroyed. According to estimates in April 2004, more than 50,000 were displaced. Aid agencies and government officials estimate the need of nearly 1 million houses in order to meet the needs of displaced people. Lack of housing is just one of the most visible reconstruction needs in Iraq. Even though millions of dollars in donor aid have been pledged to the country, on the ground Iraqis complain that they haven't seen much change since US-led forces swept into the country a little more than a year ago. Electricity cuts are still common and rubbish is often piled in the street. Worse, now, is the volatile security situation, with regular explosions or gunfire in the capital and other big cities. "The thing is, up until now, we didn't see money pouring into the country to create jobs," al-Danaluji said. "But now, I think we will witness a construction revolution in Iraq." Al-Danaluji knows the figures - international donors have pledged $33 billion to rebuild Iraq. The US Congress alone has pledged $18.4 billion. He said he didn't understand what was taking so long for the money to arrive. Security problems cause foreign investors and donors to stay away, a vicious cycle that has caused more security problems, al-Danaluji said. "It's much more difficult to start the train than when it is rolling," al-Danaluji said. "But as the projects start, more people will work, and the situation will get better." Displaced people aren't the only ones who need new homes, al-Danaluji said. Many people are still returning from Iran, who had been forced out under the former regime. And many buildings that were neglected under the former regime should be knocked down and rebuilt, al-Danaluji said. Similar apartment building complexes will be built in Karbala, in southern Iraq, and Kirkuk, in the north, with projects recently approved by US administrator Paul Bremer. Up to $15 million is allocated for each site. Six new construction projects will start very soon, said Akeel al-Ansari, deputy minister at the ministry of housing and construction. "Income from oil revenues will help us a lot in the rebuilding this country," al-Danaluji said. "Iraq is extremely rich in natural resources. Give us a chance and we will definitely do the reconstruction we need."