Abu Dhabi-based Bloom Properties and Dubai’s Al-Handal International Group have signed a contract with the Iraqi National Investment Commission to develop the Madinat al-Mustaqbal (“City of the Future”) project in Iraq.

The project, which will feature 30,000 residential units that will house 150,000 people, is worth $6.5bn, according to Al-Handal, and will be split evenly between the two developers.

Located 14.5 kilometres from Baghdad city centre, the project will also entail five commercial centres and 18 schools over an area of five million square metres. The developers say the project will be built in phases over seven years.

“The contract signals our commitment to establishing world-class projects in the country as part of efforts to raise the standard of living of our citizens,” says Sami al-Araji, chairman of the National Investment Commission.

In March, Bloom signed a contract with the National Investment Commission and the governorate of Karbala to develop the Shores of Karbala in Iraq. The project will have 40,000 housing units that will house 200,000-250,000 people.