Real Estate & Sites
Six types of sites. A location chosen, vetted, delivered — with rights sufficient to execute what you came to do.
Securing a working site in Iraq isn't a simple lease agreement. It's entering a multi-party relationship: the site itself, the owner or allocating authority, the neighbors, the state, regulatory bodies, and sometimes — the history buried beneath.
A clean paper deed can conceal a decade-old boundary dispute with the neighbor. The plot with the attractive proximity to services may sit outside its declared zoning. The "ready-to-build" land may lack a single three-phase power line.
This page sets out how we think about siting — not as a static asset, but as a meeting point of law, geography, history, infrastructure, and local human relationships.
A foreign company entering Iraq needs a site that serves its project, with legal rights clear enough to execute what it came to do. A site that opens its doors on delivery day, not one that begins the queue of delayed paperwork.
We secure that site, and we accompany the company through mobilization until it is operationally ready.
Each project takes the route that suits it. The decision is made by project nature, not a default template.
Iraq's site landscape isn't uniform. Each type carries its own law, expectations, rhythm. These differences settle a project's success before any contract is signed.
Land designated for manufacturing and storage, typically within authorized industrial cities or outside them. Sites inside authorized industrial cities come with: three-phase power, paved roads, industrial water lines, simplified regulatory processes. Outside them — all of that requires independent securing.
Land serving agricultural production and livestock projects. Subject to a distinct legal framework, with execution paths that differ from other site types. We typically secure these through licensed agricultural investment projects.
Leasing offices and headquarters in active commercial districts (Jadriya, Mansour, Karrada in Baghdad; Ashar in Basra; Kurdistan markets). The market is relatively mature, with annual renewable leases as the standard, and longer-term negotiations available for established companies.
Large plots near border crossings (Trebil, Safwan, Zurbatiya) or airports (Baghdad, Basra, Erbil). Demand is growing, especially with the expansion of regional trade with Turkey, Iran, and Jordan. Due diligence here covers: highway proximity, expansion capacity, area classification.
Land is selected, then a facility is built on it to specifications serving the company's specific activity (factory, cold storage, workshop, service center). This path shortens timelines and ensures alignment between design and use.
Not a site type, but a standalone service we provide to companies evaluating a real estate transaction in Iraq, or needing review of a proposed transaction before signing. Details follow in the next section.
We don't sign on a site after only reading its deed. Due diligence covers nine parallel layers, each potentially revealing an obstacle that changes the decision.
Is the official deed registered in the owner's name? Updated? Free of restrictions on transfer?
Is the land mortgaged to a bank? Attached by a creditor through court order? Subject to tax liens?
Is there an ongoing case against the deed? Inheritance disputes among heirs? Conflict over previously paid consideration?
The area declared in the deed matches what actually appears on the ground. This match isn't automatic — many disputes originate here.
Land boundaries declared in the deed don't overlap with neighboring deeds. Verification runs through the Land Registry Directorate.
Is there a neighbor's right-of-way across the plot? A sewage line that must be preserved? Well usage rights?
Do major oil pipelines run beneath or above? Gas lines? High-voltage cables? These can prevent construction in specific areas.
Residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, services. The intended activity must match the site's classification on the municipal map. Reclassification is complex and lengthy.
Every site in Iraq carries archaeological discovery potential. Pre-due diligence includes: verification against the registered archaeological sites map, and in certain areas — a preliminary archaeological field report before excavation.
Some six thousand years ago, on the banks of the Euphrates, the city of "Ur" arose. It wasn't humanity's first settlement, but it was the first city subject to written urban planning: perpendicular streets, residential quarters separated from commercial zones, an explicit system for water management.
Then came "Uruk". Its population exceeded fifty thousand — the first city in history to reach that size. And because scale demands system, its inhabitants developed the first known method of registering land on written tablets — documented boundaries, owner names, transfer rights.
Site selection, then, isn't a random decision awaiting the modern engineer. It is an art that evolved on this very ground six thousand years ago. What changes is the tools. What endures is the question: where does this site lie, and why this place rather than another?
At Tigris Gate, we select sites with the mindset of Ur's planners — not with the mindset of someone filling out a lease form.
These are typical numbers from our practice. Not prices or promises — they are reasonable ranges for sound planning.
Less than a month on average, with variation by region. Some areas experience high demand that makes finding the right site harder than expected.
We don't settle for any available site. We verify: access routes, proximity to infrastructure, the actual utility of the site for the project's nature. This may extend the search, but it cuts years of potential misalignment between site and use.
Vary significantly by:
We don't publish general prices because variables are many. Realistic estimation comes after defining project requirements and target region.
Statistically rare, but always warranting diligence. A deed appearing clean on paper may conceal an overlap that only field verification at the Land Registry uncovers. Years of court disputes can begin from a single hour saved in pre-acquisition verification.
The deed at the Tapu proves the owner's legal status, but it doesn't prove freedom from unmarked active disputes, or unregistered easement rights. Field due diligence is what surfaces these hidden layers.
"The site is industrial, sir" may not match the municipal map. Reclassification is theoretically possible, but takes years and passes through local councils. Pre-verification spares many disappointments.
A power line runs 200 meters from the site — that doesn't mean connection is easy. The process with the Ministry of Electricity has its own timing, costs, and requirements. We verify actual connection, not just geography.
In Iraq, your relationship with the neighboring land owner affects your project more than expected. Rights of passage, water drainage, future expansion — all flow through this relationship. Due diligence includes: who the neighbors are, and what their history is with prior projects in the area.
We don't treat the site as a static asset. We treat it as a multi-layered meeting point. Choosing the right site cuts years of downstream remediation. A first conversation to understand the project's needs, then we begin drafting the file that fits.
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