“The Development Road” enters the decisive executive phase
“The Development Road” enters the decisive executive phase
2026/07/26
The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zubaidi to Ankara holds the key to launching the “Development Road” project and moving it towards direct field implementation. This step coincides with his previous directives to finalize the financing requirements, establishing a new strategic, political, and economic framework that solidifies the partnership between the two countries and propels economic diversification in the region forward.
These moves come amidst unprecedented momentum within the Ministry of Transport to expedite the project’s direct implementation. The Ministry’s media office confirmed to Al-Sabah newspaper that coordination with the Turkish side has progressed significantly following discussions between Minister of Transport Wahab Salman Al-Hassani and his Turkish counterpart, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, to agree on the technical and procedural plans. These discussions culminated in the completion of the preliminary designs for both the railway and road link projects, and the actual transition to detailed design models that include bridges, stations, and service facilities along the route, all in accordance with the latest international engineering standards.
To ensure the partnership does not falter or the project slows down, the Prime Minister issued directives to establish a comprehensive and flexible financing mechanism that guarantees the sustainability of financial flows and provides an attractive environment for local and international investments, while adhering to the specified timelines. These directives complement the ongoing work to finalize the project’s economic model to ensure the highest levels of feasibility, in line with the government’s directions for administrative reform, digital transformation, and the adoption of modern electronic systems in managing major projects. The importance of the upcoming visit to Ankara extends beyond simply signing the implementation frameworks; it also carries political and economic dimensions that establish a new concept for regional relations. It establishes Iraq’s position as an international logistics hub linking Iraqi ports to European markets via the shortest land routes, and signals a strategic shift aimed at diversifying the sources of the national economy away from oil revenues, as well as providing tens of thousands of job opportunities and transforming the areas along the route into active development and economic centers.
alsabaah.iq
