English_Village,_Erbil

English Village, Erbil

English Village, Erbil

British-built housing complex in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

English Village is a British-built luxury housing compound located in western Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The compound contains identical villas, the vast majority of which are used as offices for companies.[1] English Village is among several modern compounds in Erbil named after Western countries, such as American Village, Italian Village and German Village.[1][2][3] It represents an economic boom that occurred in Erbil at the turn of the 2010s.[1][4]

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History

The compound was built by a consortium named Hawler Housing Project (Hawler is Kurdish for Erbil),[5] following a 2004 initiative from the UK Foreign Office Trade and Industry Department, in cooperation with British property development company J.M. Jones & Sons. Construction and sales began in early 2006.[5][6] The compound cost US$76,000,000 to develop.[7] By 2011, companies had started slowly moving into newer compounds with cheaper rent prices.[8]

In July 2019, an illicit gambling scheme operating out of a casino in English Village was shut down by the Kurdish security forces.[9]

Characteristics

English Village contains 420 villas, covering a total of 26 hectares (64 acres).[5][6] Each villa has 235 square metres (2,530 sq ft) of floor space on two floors and contains five bedrooms, full air conditioning, fitted kitchens and two bathrooms[6] with combined Eastern and Western toilets.[7] The villas are reported to have a reliable electricity supply and sanitation system, in contrast to other areas of Erbil and Iraq.[7] The compound also contains a school and five-storey shopping centre.[7]

In 2006, the purchase cost of each villa was US$125,000,[7] while in 2008 it was US$200,000,[7] and in 2011 it was US$500,000.[8] In 2011, the rent cost was around US$3,400 per month.[8]

Demographics

The complex is populated mostly by upper-class locals, foreign businesspeople and aid workers.[7] The vast majority of villas in the complex are used as offices for companies.[1]

In the media

In 2019, GQ Australia featured English Village in a photography series on the urban development of Erbil.[10][11]

References

  1. [1]
    Danilovich, Alex (18 November 2016). Iraqi Kurdistan in Middle Eastern Politics. Taylor & Francis. pp. 80–82. ISBN 9781315468402.
  2. [2]
    Beehner, Lionel (24 October 2008). "On War's Outer Edge in Kurdish Iraq". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. [3]
    Khalaf, Roula (21 November 2014). "Kurdistan: a nation in waiting". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. [4]
    Harding, Luke (16 July 2014). "Revisiting Kurdistan: 'If there is a success story in Iraq, it's here'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. [5]
    Mohammed Salih, Haval (January 2015). "Residential Housing Development In Kurdistan Region Government of Iraqi Federal" (PDF). Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017.
  6. [6]
    "jmjonesholdings.com - iraq projects". www.jmjonesholdings.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. [7]
    "A piece of England booms in Iraqi Kurdistan". ekurd.net. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  8. [8]
    "English Village Erbil". EDIA Iraq. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. [9]
    Kurdistan24. "Erbil security bust online gambling operation; 'unimaginable' amounts of money sent abroad: official". Kurdistan24. Retrieved 3 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. [10]
    "The houses look modern but the threat is never far away". NewsComAu. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  11. [11]
    "GQ Magazine - Erbil, Iraq". Siren. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
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