The design for the rail component of Iraq’s Development Road project is expected to be completed by August, according to Transport Minister Razzak Al-Saadawi.
Al-Saadawi stated that the 1,200-km railway will pass through most of Iraq’s governorates but will avoid key cities to facilitate faster implementation.
“The Italian company has confirmed its readiness to submit designs for the first phase of the Development Road project in August,” he told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Monday.
Iraq announced in 2024 that it had signed an agreement with BTP Infrastructure to conduct a feasibility study and design the railway, which will run parallel to a planned motorway.
Officials previously estimated in 2023 that the rail link, stretching from southern Iraq to the northern border with Turkey, could cost at least $17 billion and is expected to be completed by 2029.
(Source: Zawya Projects)
