The Assyrian town of Tilkeif is located in northern Iraq, in Ninawa Governorate, 13 km northeast of Mosul city. Tilkeif used to consist of a majority Assyrians with a minority of Yazidis, but its demographic composition has changed due to the occupation of IS in 2014. Currently, the population is primarily Sunni Arab with only some Assyrians and Yazidis as tiny minorities.
Besides this demographic change, the town was significantly devastated by IS. Much public infrastructure and many private properties were partially or entirely damaged till the town was liberated in 2017.
MASAR started with a market assessment of Tilkeif town, which showed a need for a new market building and some new businesses needing new facilities.
A technical assessment was done on the old market building, which showed that it had to be demolished due to the extent of the damage and the age of the buildings.
The old market building housed some daily convenience stores such as groceries, butchers and other retailers. The MASAR-PCPM team supported Tilkeif municipality in the demolition of the old building as well as relocating the main electrical power line. Once in place, they started with the construction of the new market building with space for 20 shops on the ground floor, 13 offices on the first floor and a ceremony hall on the second floor. Furthermore, the project provided all the necessary services of water, sanitation, electricity, firefighting, elevator and emergency exits for the market, as well as capacity-building training for 10 municipal engineers in Ninawa Governorate.
The new market building improved the service delivery in Tilkeif and contributed to social stability, by attracting businesses to the area and providing new job opportunities.
