Construction work is commencing for the $17 billion transport link that will connect Iraq with Turkey. The first stretch of the combined road and rail route will connect Iraq’s Al-Faw Grand Port to Safwan Highway. Building this 63km stretch also includes the construction of two bridges, measuring 800m and 400m.
The Development Road will link South Iraq with Turkey, providing a transport with a major highway and parallel rail link alternative to the Suez Canal. Design work for the first section is complete. The Iraqi Government and Turkish Government are managing the project together but both the UAE Government and Qatar Government are acting as additional partners.
The first stretch of the route should be ready by 2028 but it is likely to take until 2050 for the project to be complete. A key stretch of the rail link could be ready as early as 2031. Iraq also intends to build 15 stations along its stretch of the rail route, with an industrial city at each location.
