Iraqi children run a football drill at a practice ground in Bismayah new city, about 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. Hanwha Engineering & Construction (E&C) has been building a massive residential complex in the Middle Eastern nation since 2012. / Courtesy of Hanwha E&C



By Lee Hyo-sik

Hanwha Engineering & Construction (E&C) is receiving favorable response from Iraqis moving into its new urban residential complex near Baghdad, which is still under construction, company officials said Monday.

The $10-billion construction project, which began in 2012, has been progressing smoothly as scheduled, according to the officials, who said the company will complete the construction of the residential town by 2019.

"With the Bismayah new city beginning to take shape, some Iraqis have started moving into the area," a Hanwha E&C official said. "We are getting overwhelmingly positive response from the residents for apartments, schools, hospitals and other urban infrastructure we have built. Everything has been moving smoothly as planned."

In 2012, Hanwha won an $8 billion contract to build 100,000 houses and other urban infrastructure in Bismayah, about 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. The builder won an additional $2 billion deal in September 2015 to construct schools, hospitals, police stations, fire stations and other urban facilities in the city.

The company has so far received $3.07 billion from the Iraqi government as the project is about 32 percent complete.

"Over the years, we have gained extensive knowhow and expertise from creating a number of new residential complexes in Korea. We are mobilizing what we have learned to design and construct the Bismayah new city," the official said. "The urban complex will greatly improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis."

Using the Bismayah project as a spring board, Hanwha plans to win more deals in the Middle East and the Southeast Asia.

In March last year, a consortium the builder set up with Daewoo E&C signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia to build a new residential city, twice as large as Bundang, south of Seoul.