The Role of Investment Law in Housing Construction in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region

Abstract

Duhok has a strategic location because it lies between two mountains ranges and at the junction of the borders of Iraq, in the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. The city has a significant position from the dawn of history to the present time. In addition to the relative peace in the region, it has an advantage to develop the economy relatively fast in comparison to other parts of Iraq. Due to the above reasons, The City witnessed a rapid population growth during the last decades and the fast growing population led to further urbanization growth in the city. Duhok’s urbanization growth areas expanded at a rate 2.2 times faster than population growth, Giving rise to an increasing density of settlements and creation of informal settlement patterns, in addition to lack of new housing delivery systems. The Kurdistan Regional Government recognized that the regional government alone could not reconstruct Kurdistan without active participation from the private sector; therefore, Private investors especially from foreign resources been promoted to contribute towards economic development. The government, issued investment-law to remove any legal obstacles, focusing in construction sector especially housing projects. This paper discusses the role investment law in eliminating housing shortage in the city of Duhok to address the key bottlenecks in housing sector through better understanding of the potential and weaknesses of the existing situation.

Keywords: Duhok city, Kurdistan Regional Government, Investment law, Housing, Population