After years of horrendous torment, Iraq has finally a reason to rejoice. The country expects to see the accomplishment of its largest urbanization project till date. At least the planning has already been completed and a masterplan presented by Broadway Malyan, an urbanization and Design practice. The project has been nicknamed 10×10, the reason being that the project is worth $10 billion and is expected to be completed in 10 years.
The practice had grabbed the project in an open competition that had been started in 2009 through bidding. A proposal was subsequently tendered, post which, the project planning was commenced in April 2010. The city in question is the Sadr, in the famous Arabic Dreamland, Baghdad. The project includes the extension of the current city up to the dimensions of 17sq km and the construction of a new Sadr city. The idea is to relax the pressure of accommodating the entire population in the present space constraints and create space for 500,000 odd civilians with modern amenities. The officials are confident of the acknowledged levels of specialized skills of the team.
The client, the Mayoralty of Baghdad has seen an intimate involvement of the practice in chalking out the masterplan for the sectored build of the city. The implantation tender has already been passed and everything has been beautifully finalized. It is hard to imagine how great it must have been for the concerned population to hear a relieving piece of news after the grabbing turmoil that it has been undergoing till today.
Without placing an offence of any exaggeration, of course it would be clear to any sane mind that just a construction project is not all Iraq requires now; it won’t be a literary guilt to assume that good things always begin in the smallest packets. It is good that after grappling with the eternal thirst for its oil reserves, a part of the country is going to taste some success in overcoming the sad plea of its citizens.
But this effort should not end up with the completion with the 10×10 project. Considering the fact that Baghdad is an already developed center compared to the rest of Iraq, this project should mark the beginning of a continuous process – a process to make good out of bad, better out of good and the best out of better.
Via: BroadwayMalyan
