Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, recently made an announcement revealing the designs for the railway routes in the Iraq’s Mega $17 Billion “Development Road” Project involving Turkey, Qatar, and the UAE have been completed. This big announcement was made at a dialogue seminar focusing on the project and the investment opportunities it presents to the countries involved. According to Al-Sudani, “completion of these railway designs marks a key milestone, and the entire project is expected to take a duration five years to complete, ultimately transforming Iraq into an “open country.”
Moreover, the Development Road project is rooted from a quadripartite memorandum of understanding signed on April 22 in Baghdad. The countries of Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE reached an agreement to cooperate on this ambitious project under the auspices of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Al-Sudani. This mega project is foreseen to enhance connectivity by setting up a network of land and railway roads extending from Iraq to Turkey’s ports, covering a distance of 1,200 kilometers within Iraq.
Funding of the Project
“Furthermore, the Iraqi government has asked for support from the World Bank to finance the project, especially for the section that runs from Basra in the south to Mosul in the north, ” he said. Al-Sudani made emphasis that international partnerships play a critical role in developing the project, clearly stating that agreements reached with international companies signal positive cooperation. Moreover, he stated the government’s intention to involve the private sector in the project’s development.
Another upcoming meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Development Road project is scheduled for November this year. In preparation for the mega project’s implementation, the government has begun a study to form an authority that will be tasked with the responsibility of managing the development road. , Additionally, this project aims to facilitate the transportation of goods between Europe and Gulf countries, therefore bolstering existing economic ties and regional connectivity.
Iraq’s Mega $17 Billion “Development Road” Project Set to Compete with the Suez Canal
Moreover, just to note, the main aim of this project is to compete with Egypt’s Suez Canal by making Iraq a transit hub by reducing the time it takes to travel from Asia to Europe.
Likewise, railway for the movement of goods is also an integral part of the project. The railway’s capacity will be 3.5 million tons in the first phase and 7.5 million tons in the second.
Lastly, together with the Al-Faw Grand Port and the industrial city, the project will also be featuring pipelines for the transportation of energy and a road for land transportation.
Project Fact Sheet
Project Name: “Development Road”
Participant countries: Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Cost: $17 Billion
Construction period: 5 years
Composition: Railway, road, and pipelines
Significance: Enhance connectivity within the region by enabling mobility of commodity between Asia and Europe
Also read: Pan-Asia Railway Closer to Reality with 60% Finished East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia
