Housing for IDPs in Iraq postponed

BAGHDAD, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration may delay several housing developments due to economic issues stemming from declining oil prices.

Baghdad in November dropped its budget forecast by $13 billion as oil prices reached a relative low point. The government may reject this version, however, as it used $62 per barrel of oil as its basis.

Oil Tuesday traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange at around $54 per barrel.

Ali Shaalan with the offices of the Planning Ministry said the government allocated only 20 percent of its request for 2009, meaning several housing projects for displaced persons face delays, the United Nations' humanitarian news agency, IRIN, said Tuesday.

For his part, Hamid Hassan Nadhum, an economic analyst in Baghdad, said the government did not seize the opportunity to invest in the country when oil was at its $147 peak in July.

"The government shrugged off calls that it should make use of international financial aid and record oil prices to pump money into housing and infrastructure projects," he said.

The Planning Ministry in February said plans were under way for several housing facilities throughout the country, and Shaalan said a five-year, $439 million plan was still anticipated.