Iraq will soon award Sadr City in the capital Baghdad to Chinese companies after it shortlisted 5 firms from the Asian country, an official has said.

Bidding for the 60,000-house city will end after two weeks and the project is scheduled to be launched within two months, said Mohammed Al-Daraji, technical adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani.

“Five Chinese companies have been shortlisted for Sadr City…the contract with winning bidders will be signed shortly,” he told the official Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday.

Sadr City is one of 15 residential cities to be constructed in Iraq within a post-war drive to tackle a housing crisis.