#IRAQ: Baghdad Renaissance Plan
I don't know if anyone posted this before?
The Proposed Baghdad Renaissance Plan
The Proposed Baghdad Renaissance Plan, is a 25-year scheme, designed by architect Hisham N. Ashkouri to transform 9 km² of silt deposits into an "an up-market commercial and residential neighborhood" astride the Tigris River in central Baghdad, as well as nearby Tahrir Square. Tahrir Square was originally part of the central business district of baghdad, and Phase I of the plan focuses on the redevelopment of this area. When finished, the "commerce, banking, medical, housing, broadcast and IT, exhibition, conventions and cultural centers" of which the plan is comprised would be occupied by up to one-half million people. The project received encouragement by the U.S. Department of Commerce as well as other US and Middle East organizations. It is a vision for the future of Baghdad, Iraq and the region. A smaller-scale proposal of Dr. Ashkouri's is the Sindbad Hotel Complex and Conference Center, a high-rise hotel and movie theater complex which would be Baghdad's first skyscraper.
The Sindbad Hotel Complex and Conference Center:
The Sindbad Hotel Complex and Conference Center was designed by architect Hisham N. Ashkouri in 2004 to be the first new high-rise hotel, conference center and movie theater complex in modern Baghdad, as a bold and visible symbol of the reconstruction of Iraq. At the ground level, the Sindbad Hotel Complex houses a restaurant and grand entryway. Above that is a two level movie theater complex and conference center. The main body of this new addition to Iraq’s skyline and symbol of its rebirth as a modern nation is comprised of twenty floors of standard hotel rooms and luxury suites. Topping it all off is a rooftop restaurant reminiscent of nomadic tents, offering a spectacular view of the Tigris River and the city below. This new commercial center will become an important symbol for the New Iraq. Not only will it be a place for gathering and recreation, and a place to conduct the business of the emerging Iraqi economy, but it will also be an employer of several hundred construction workers and after construction will employ several hundred more citizens in an ongoing capacity.
Total project cost was estimated in 2005 to be approximately $113 M USD.
The Baghdad Tahrir Square Development is the first phase in architect Hisham N. Ashkouri's (ARKADD) proposed Baghdad Renaissance Plan. Based around an established traffic circle on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad's Central Business District, the proposed development would develop just under 150,000 square meters at a cost of approximately $860M. Included would be hotel, office, retail and residential space.
The first component is Tahrir Circle, an eight story cultural center with a theater situated in the courtyard of the building. The next part of the development is office complex A, which forms one point of a triangular configuration of office complexes, along with B and C. A forty-two-story hotel sits in the center of the triangle as the geographic and aesthetic centerpiece of the development. The hotel and office buildings rest on a three level retail, parks, and recreation concourse. The entire cost of the Tahrir Square Development is projected to be $860 million.
Economics and Financing: The Current economic conditions in Baghdad are ripe for a new infusion of development with financial resources matching that, which can be found in new developments such as the one in Dubai. The designs allow for the private sector to take the initiative to invest in new buildings to be part of the commercial and other developments, and to pay over time the cost of the land development, long-term lease and the necessary infrastructure required for their specific sites. The design projects the Baghdad Renaissance Plan total construction cost of $13-14 billion to generate a profit of 20-30% per year.