Dr Hisham Ashkouri shares his Baghdad Renaissance Plan for the city's future
One of the most critical elements in this design effort was to develop the plan through air rights to be used for high-rise structures and new buildings and to allow for the inner City areas to be linked to the Tigris River waterfront below the new air rights. This would encourage and support historic building connection with the waterfront, continue to enhance the cultural fabric of Baghdad and develop public parks and recreational grounds along the Tigris in the heart of the City.
The new infrastructure systems will include new roads and highways, sewer, power and domestic water along the Tigris. This will have no immediate impact as an overload of existing City infrastructure yet the new plan will become the nucleus and catalyst of new development to spread east and west of the Tigris over time.
In addition, the design would create a continuation of the Corniche drive along both sides of the Tigris serving as a new traffic artery with main feeder roadways to all the bridges, highways and local streets.
This project, just like other world developments would generate tax revenues to the City of Baghdad and Iraq and would contribute towards the improvement of the city's infrastructure and its support services.
The Baghdad Renaissance Plan is estimated to cost around $13 billion in private investments over a 20-year period and would generate over 364,000 construction and construction related jobs. After its completion it would house over 1,500,000 employees of various levels and backgrounds.
Examples of the international private businesses in the Renaissance Plan will include local and international banks, trading and commercial firms, insurance companies, hotels, sport centers, information technology center and broadcast center, cultural and art groups, the National Symphony, the Baghdad Opera House, theaters, broadcast, information technology center, a medical center and housing.
Read Dr Ashkouri's account of the conception of of the plan in his comment.
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