Iraqi PM reviews progress made in Development Road project

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, has chaired the regular meeting of the Higher Committee for the Development Road project.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Transportation, Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, the Chairman of the National Investment Commission, and officials from the Ministries of Planning, Oil, Electricity, and Communications, as well as the Prime Minister’s advisors.

While the meeting addressed the progress achieved at the Al-Faw Grand Port, the Transportation Minister provided updates based on prior resolutions.

A joint committee consisting of members from several Iraqi directorates was formed to create cadastral maps of lands along the project’s pathways, identify ownership and legal status, and assist the Transportation Ministry with expropriations in accordance with current laws or new rules as needed.

The meeting additionally tackled the legislative framework for operating the Development Road Project and Al-Faw Grand Port, taking into account similar regional and worldwide achievements.

The Development Road is the name given by the Iraqi government to what was known as the dry canal that connects the Al-Faw Grand Port in southern Iraq with the Turkish territories through railway networks and roads.

The Development Road includes a railway where trains will pass through 10 Iraqi governorates.

Al-Sudni illustrated earlier that the project includes a railway to transport goods, with a capacity of 3.5 million tons in its first phase that will be increased to 7.5 million tons in the second phase.

The Iraqi Prime Minister elaborated that the project will also include a highway for land transport and pipelines to transport energy, in addition to the Al-Faw Grand Port and the industrial city expected to be one of the largest in the Middle East.

Many Arab, regional, and European countries have expressed their willingness to participate in Iraq’s Development Road project, either by pumping in investments or taking part in the construction works, as it constitutes an important link between Asia and Europe.

The project is expected to turn the country into a transit center by shortening the travel time between Asia and Europe in an attempt to compete with Egypt’s Suez Canal.