Ministry of Transport: 6 airports and 15 industrial cities on the development path
Ministry of Transport: 6 airports and 15 industrial cities on the development path
2025-07-25
The Ministry of Transport announced, on Friday, the most important outcomes of the meeting of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, regarding the Development Road Project, which was held last Wednesday, in the presence of the Minister of Transport, the Chairman of the Supreme Authority for Coordination between Governorates, a number of general managers and consultants, and a representative of the project consultant company (Oliver Wyman), noting that 6 airports and 15 industrial cities will be included in the development road. The Director of Relations and Media at the Ministry of Transport, Maitham Al-Safi, told the official agency, “There were ongoing meetings regarding the Development Road Project, whether they were meetings related to the Ministry of Transport and other institutions related to the Development Road Project, as well as with consultants, whether the Italian consultant, which is (btb), or the consultant for the economic director, which is the company (Oliver Wyman).”
Al-Safi also explained regarding the meeting the day before yesterday, “The Prime Minister directed that there be a clear commitment to implementing these directives, especially with regard to forming a committee to determine the final path between Iraq and Turkey. In addition, there are procedures to determine the path based on technical and economic issues. The Prime Minister also directed that all challenges facing the project be resolved, and that there be a commitment to the timelines for the development road project.”
Al-Safi also explained that “the meeting also included a presentation by the economic and financial director of Oliver Wyman Economics. This presentation was a result of previous meetings with the Ministry of Transport, during which the economic model was discussed for presentation to the Prime Minister. This economic model will then be determined, in addition to another phase of this model, which is the project presentation for investment.”
Al-Safi noted that “the preliminary design phase has been completed and we have entered the detailed design phase. We have made significant progress towards the detailed design phase and intend to present the project to major international companies by the end of this year.”
He added, “The project will be distributed in sections, allowing for competition from international companies, and ensuring that these companies adhere to international standards that will contribute to the project’s success.”
Regarding the countries that wish to work on this project, Al-Safi revealed that “there are partner countries in the project, namely Turkey, Qatar, and the Emirates, within a memorandum of understanding that was signed between us and these countries. There is also another council that includes (Turkey, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria), which includes the European side.”
Al-Safi continued, “There are countries that aspire to be part of this project, whether at the implementation or participation level, as there were visits by economic representatives of a number of embassies in Baghdad to the Ministry of Transport, as well as the Higher Committee for the Development Road Project, the most prominent of which was the visit of the Chinese Economic Advisor last year to the General Company for Railways in Iraq.” He pointed out that “this year also witnessed many visits, the most recent of which was the visit of the Australian Ambassador and the French Ambassador, where there was extensive talk about the Development Road Project and the interest of these countries in this important project, as it is an international project that does not only concern Iraq, but also concerns the region and the world.”
Al-Safi also emphasized that “this project will provide thousands of job opportunities for Iraqis, and will also transform the economic transportation landscape in Iraq. It will also contribute to increasing the gross domestic product and will lead to local Iraqi economic integration, in addition to international economic integration. The policy of this project is to link all sectors.”
Al-Safi explained: “Today we are talking about three main airports within this project: Baghdad, Basra, and Najaf. In addition, there are three airports that will enter service and will also be linked to this project: Nasiriyah, Karbala, and Mosul, which was recently opened. There are also links to this project for a number of industrial zones, totaling 15 industrial cities, which will be linked to this project.”
Al-Safi explained that “the project is not just a transportation project, as is commonly believed, but rather an integrated project that benefits the governorates linked to the project, through the raw materials available in these governorates, and also through the investment opportunities that will be related to this project.” He concluded by saying that “these investment opportunities will be through local governments, institutions, or ministries.”
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