![Nusri Mosque Mosul [AFP/Getty]](https://www.newarab.com/sites/default/files/media/images/417E2A58-E85C-4287-8090-B5162701BDF6.jpg "Nusri Mosque Mosul [AFP/Getty]")
Iraqi PM forms supreme committee to resurrect Mosul 'disaster zone'
Iraqi PM forms supreme committee to resurrect Mosul 'disaster zone'
Mosul was destroyed by IS. Now, almost four years after the city's re-capture by Iraqi government forces the city remains derelict.
2 min read
Mosul's Nuri Mosque was heavily damaged by ISIS in July 2017 [AFP/Getty]
The Iraqi government approved the formation of a supreme committee to rebuild Mosul, which was devastated during the re-capture of the city in July 2017 from Islamic State group militants.
The war with IS destroyed over 80 percent of Mosul's housing and infrastructure, according to figures from the Ministry of Planning, with construction plans stalled.
Read more: The Iraq Report
The New Arab’s Arabic-language service, Al-Araby al-Jadeed, recently reported that Iraqi authorities revived plans to rebuild Mosul and surrounding majority-Christian areas after the Pope’s visit to the northern city earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Najm al-Jubouri, the Governor of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, said that the Pontiff had agreed to help rebuild Mosul's Old City, according to the Iraqi News Agency.
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Al-Jubouri added that the Pope’s visit to Mosul had prompted "internal and external sympathy" for the Iraqi city and that numerous countries had since indicated their willingness to assist with the reconstruction.
On the domestic front, he revealed that the ministry of water resources had committed to help deal with war-related pollution.
This new action from Baghdad, announced on Tuesday, comes over three years after it declared Nineveh Governate a "disaster zone".
An official source told the Iraqi News Agency that the order to form the committee came directly from Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi who will personally oversee the body.
He will be joined by other senior officials, including the finance and planning ministers, Governor Al-Jubouri and the Chairman of the National Investment Commission.
While the committee's scope and budget were not announced, government sources told Al-Araby al-Jadeed that it will begin by setting priorities.
These will include roads, houses, hospitals and schools.
In another apparent win for the Pope, the membership of Father Raed Adel suggests Christian properties and destroyed places of worship are likely to be high on the list.
Previous attempts at rebuilding Mosul were minor efforts and mostly confined to UN, Gulf and international aid.
Ahmed Al-Hamdani, an Iraq expert said significant reconstruction would create jobs and encourage residents to return to Mosul.
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