Erbil governorate reports progress in renovation of Qaysari Bazaar after May 2024’s devastating fire

ERBIL — Renovation efforts following last year’s massive fire that extensively damaged Erbil’s historic Qaysari Bazaar have been completed for 105 out of 227 affected shops, with remaining work in its final stages, the Erbil Governorate announced on Monday.

The fire, which broke out on the night of May 5, 2024, caused significant damage to 227 shops and seven warehouses in the Qaysari Bazaar.

An amount of 5.3 billion IQD ($3,510,190) have been dedicated to the renovation of the affected Qaysari Bazaar shops, funded from the governorate’s budget.

Renovation work on the remaining shops and the wider market is nearing completion, and authorities expect the bazaar to fully reopen to the public soon, without revealing the exact date.

Shop owners and traders are anticipated to resume their commercial activities once the renovation concludes.

Previously, shopkeepers from Qaysari Bazaar, gathered several times to express their frustration over the slow pace of reconstruction. Back then, Salar Taha, a fabric store owner in the bazaar, told 964media, “We have been left without work. People cannot live even a day without work, and we have been without work for a month. We cannot manage our lives in this situation.”

Erbil has seen at several major market fires last year, all causing substantial financial losses for vendors. In addition to Qaysari Bazaar fire, a major fire on Feb. 27 at the Langa Market destroyed 185 shops, with losses estimated at 6.75 billion dinars ($5.15 million), two months later another fire engulfed the same market.

Between January and October 2024, the Erbil Civil Defense documented 2,057 fire incidents, with dried grass and shrubs as the leading cause, responsible for 842 cases. The fires claimed 46 lives, including 22 due to burns and 24 from suffocation, while 89 others were injured. Civil Defense teams successfully rescued 56 individuals and 11 vehicles during these emergencies.