Iraq approves $19m reconstruction plan for Mosul’s Old City

The Iraqi government yesterday approved a project to reconstruct Mosul’s Old City at a cost of 20 billion Iraqi dinars ($19 million).

“The ministerial committee composed of several ministries has approved the proposal to rebuild the Old City and its old market in full,” the director of the municipality, Abdul Sattar Al-Habo, was quoted as saying by the Anadolu Agency.

He explained that the proposal also includes “granting the owners of destroyed houses interest-free loans for construction”. The committee is now in the process of issuing the order to the Executive Committee.

Iraq announced last December victory over Daesh which had seizes large swathes of land in the country in 2014.

Read: Like heavy fog, the stench of death fills the air in Mosul

Mosul’s Old City witnessed fierce fighting between Daesh militants and Iraqi forces who were backed by the US. The city had been the terrorist group’s capital in Iraq.

The United Nations predicts it will cost more than $1 billion to repair basic infrastructure in Mosul. In some of the worst affected areas, almost no buildings appear to have escaped damage and Mosul’s dense construction means the extent of the devastation might be underestimated, UN officials said.