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The stadium it appears is not destined to see light. I should now I am an Iraqi and an architect and I designed it. Everyone may rest assured NOBODY’S money is paying for it. The original site was in northern Baghdad in Tadji. When Saddam fell we were contacted to suggest if lowering the capacity to 60000 and an increase of fifteen million dollars would do to complete the project. That was the last we heard of the subject officially. But in the runnup to the 2005 elections several parties laid foundations stones for the project on TV in THREE different sites in and around Baghdad. When I visited the ministry of sports in 2006 to inquire about the project a young engineer told me she had’nt heard of it even though a printout of the design was hanging behind her head.
For those interested the roof is suspended on combined steel and concrete pylons. They are designed in pairs according to the stress they bear. The one in the middle in front of the main stand is concrete and is designed for aesthetic reasons as a central pivot.

I’m so sorry that it’s not slated to be built. It is such a beautiful design. It’s difficult to imagine that the stadium is not a top priority considering how popular football is and how well Iraq did in the World Cup. What are the Ministry’s top projects and how do they rank in cost?

Here is a post from linux07ster. There are some great things happening in Iraq. Wish we heard more about the positive things here in the States.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1807747/posts?page=10#10

BTW, Welcome to FreeRepublic!