Baghdad (NINA) – The new American Embassy in Baghdad that was opened on Monday, Jan. 5, is the largest in the world, in size and costs.
According to American sources, the estimated construciton costs of the new Embassy at $ 592 million built over an area of 104 acres, which is almost the size of the Vatican.
The Embassy's complex consists of 27 separate buildings and houses in which four thousand employees live. The Ambassador will be living inside the complex, under heavy security, in a house of a 16000 square feet land, while his deputy will be living in a smaller house (9500 square feet land). They will have their own swimming pool, sports area as well as living quarters. The Embassy will have its own power and water supplies.
The new embassy's costs and size constitutes, as well as its staff and running costs, one of President Bush's major projects in Iraq. But the project itself was a target of attacks during last year, forcing construction changes to improve security through having inforced walls to sustain explosions.
Heavy security measures were taken during the inauguration's ceremony.
The Embassy's Spokeswoman, Suzan Ziyadeh, said, "This Embassy has a large symbolic meaning by reflecting normality and special relations between Iraq and the United States."
The United States handed the Green Zone's security responsibilities to the Iraqi authorities on the First of January. / End.
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