Government advisor: Baghdad and Erbil agree on the least costly route for development
Government advisor: Baghdad and Erbil agree on the least costly route for development
2025-12-03 02:49
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Wednesday, Nasser al-Asadi, advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister for Transportation Affairs, revealed that the governments of Baghdad and Erbil had agreed on the “best and least costly route” for the development road, stressing that the two governments are in continuous contact to complete the road route.
Al-Asadi told Shafaq News Agency, “There are dialogues, meetings and coordination between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the route of the development road that starts from Basra Governorate and reaches Duhok Governorate and from there to the Turkish border.”
He added, “The Iraqi government chose the least expensive route for the road from Nineveh Governorate towards Dohuk Governorate, reaching Turkey via the Fishkhabur border crossing,” explaining that “the distance from the Rabia area in Nineveh to the Turkish border is 55 kilometers, and this distance is the best and most suitable for us.”
Al-Asadi pointed out that “the visits of the President of the Region, Nechirvan Barzani, to Baghdad and his meetings with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani always include the topic of the development road, and there is direct coordination between the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Transport in the Region.”
Al-Asadi stressed that there are no problems or obstacles regarding the development road project, adding that there are “understandings and convergence of views between the federal government and the region, and the final solution will make everyone benefit from the development road project.”
The spokesperson also explained that “the implementation of the development road project will take place in the coming year 2026, and the volume of financial revenues according to the studies prepared for the project amounts to billions of dollars.”
In April 2024, Iraq, Turkey, the UAE and Qatar signed a four-way agreement for the Iraq Development Road project, under the auspices of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The project, which includes a 1,200-kilometer road and railway within Iraq, aims to promote economic integration between East and West, increase international trade, and facilitate the movement of goods.
The project’s investment budget is approximately $17 billion, divided between $6.5 billion for the highway and $10.5 billion for the electric railway. It will be implemented in three phases, ending in 2028, 2033, and 2050.
The project is expected to provide around 100,000 job opportunities in the first phase and one million job opportunities upon completion, and will promote economic growth and regional and international cooperation.
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