Transport is moving towards an agreement with Türkiye to finance the development road in exchange for oil.
Transport is moving towards an agreement with Türkiye to finance the development road in exchange for oil.
10-10-2026
The Ministry of Transport announced on Saturday that it is moving to conclude an agreement with Turkey for financing in exchange for oil to establish a fund to finance the development road project, while noting that the first phase of the project will be financed through a World Bank loan.
Fadel Abbas, the director of the projects department at the General Company for Iraqi Railways, said in a press statement that “the Development Road project is currently in the design preparation phase.”
He explained that “the project will work to develop Iraq’s railway network, connect the governorates, and provide passenger and freight transport services, in addition to its main objective of transporting goods from the port of Faw to Turkey and from there to Europe and vice versa.”
He added that “work is currently underway to conclude an agreement with Türkiye to establish a fund to finance the implementation of the project by Turkish companies in exchange for oil.”
Abbas explained, “There is another project that represents the first phase of the development road, which works on developing the current railway line extending from Baghdad to Basra and to Umm Qasr in the south, and from Baghdad to Mosul in the north, with this line being linked to the port of Faw and to the Turkish border in the north at Fishkhabur,” indicating that “the financing of this project is done through a loan from the World Bank.”
Abbas pointed out that “the company is currently working on putting the (Baghdad – Akashat) railway line into service, after rehabilitating most of the line sections and restoring most of the bridges that were destroyed by ISIS terrorist gangs,” noting that “the work was limited to one small bridge, which is (Wadi Fatim), and it was found to be in the process of referral and signing the contract.”
He explained that “the Baghdad Metro file was transferred from the General Company for Railways to the Baghdad Municipality, which in turn announced an investment opportunity to implement the project,” stressing that “there are no current railway plans related to the tram or metro issue.”
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