Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, chaired a meeting on Thursday where the higher committee for the Development Road project approved the creation of a specialized company to oversee its management.
The Iraq Development Fund will establish the company, which will focus on coordinating the $17 billion initiative. Senior Iraqi officials, along with representatives from Oliver Wyman, an international consulting firm, attended the meeting. Al-Sudani directed the firm to organize a joint session with Iraqi and Turkish officials to finalize project regulations.
The Development Road will link Iraq’s Al-Faw Grand Port in the south to the Turkish border, extending both road and rail networks. This ambitious project is expected to connect Asia and Europe, drawing support from several Arab, regional, and European countries. These nations have expressed interest in funding or assisting with construction.
In April 2024, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar signed a quadripartite agreement to advance the project. The goal is to strengthen cooperation and create the necessary infrastructure to complete the project, which aims to foster economic integration and sustainability between East and West.
The Iraqi Minister of Transport, Razzaq Al-Saadawi, noted in November that Turkey had formed a council with Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia to facilitate the connection between Europe and Iraq’s Development Road.
The project will include a railway system with two phases: a first phase with a 3.5 million-ton capacity and a second phase at 7.5 million tons. It will also feature pipelines for energy transportation and a road network for land transport.
The Development Road is set to boost international trade, create jobs, and offer investment opportunities for Iraq and its neighbors, strengthening regional and global economic ties.