South Korea’s Hanwha Corp. is resuming a $10 billion project to build the Bismayah new city in Iraq after a 16-month hiatus. The project, which was first proposed in 2010 and awarded to Hanwha in 2012, aims to build 100,000 housing units on 1,830 hectares of land with all necessary infrastructure. Hanwha halted work on the project in September 2020 due to non-payment from the Iraqi side. However, the company received $230 million out of the outstanding $629 million last December, leading to a partial resumption of the project.
The Korean government sees the resumption of the Bismaya project as an opportunity for Korean builders to gain further access to Iraq’s other new city development projects. Korean Minister Park Sang-woo highlighted Korea’s role in Iraq’s urban development projects during a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Transportation Razzaq Muhaibis Al-Saadiawi. Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. has also secured a $2 billion project at the Grand Faw Port in Iraq.
Minister Park mentioned that Korean companies could invest in petrochemical complexes and power plants near the port, and expressed hope for active participation by Korean companies in Iraq’s $17 billion railway and road network projects. The resumption of the Bismaya project is seen as a stepping stone for Korean builders to further engage with Iraq’s ambitious urban development plans and strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
