Rebuilding Marawi could cost $970M, Philippine govt says

The Philippine housing agency said more than 1,000 transitional houses could be completed within two months on the outskirts of Marawi, where a deadly conflict with Daesh loyalists displaced more than 300,000 people.

Damaged buildings are seen inside a war-torn area in Marawi City, southern Philippines October 24, 2017, after the Philippines announced on Monday the end of five months of military operations in a southern city held by pro-Daesh rebels.
Reuters

Damaged buildings are seen inside a war-torn area in Marawi City, southern Philippines October 24, 2017, after the Philippines announced on Monday the end of five months of military operations in a southern city held by pro-Daesh rebels.

The Philippine government estimates the rebuilding of Marawi could cost at least 50 billion pesos ($971 million).

Authorities announced on Monday the end of military operations in Marawi after a fierce and unfamiliar urban war in the country's biggest security crisis in years, paving the way for rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts to begin. 

Authorities said 920 militants, 165 troops and police and at least 45 civilians were killed in the conflict, which displaced more than 300,000 people. 

More than 1,000 transitional houses, with basic bathroom and cooking facilities, could be completed within two months on the outskirts of Marawi, the Philippine housing agency has said.

Residents whose homes were devastated will get first priority in allotment raffles that could be held either before or after construction.

Unfamiliar combat
The rebel occupation stunned a military inexperienced in urban combat and stoked wider concerns that Daesh loyalists have gained influence among local Muslims and have ambitions to use the island as a base for Southeast Asia operations.

Those fears are compounded by the organisation of the militant alliance and its ability to recruit young fighters, lure foreign radicals, stockpile huge amounts of arms and endure 154 days of ground offensive and air strikes.

The social welfare department said more than 5,000 families still live in covered gymnasiums and tent cities.

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