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Iraq’s $17 billion Development Road project will include a high-speed railway set to begin operations in 2031, carrying nearly 13.8 million passengers annually, a Transport Ministry official said.
Spokesman Maytham Safi told local media that the first phase will connect the southern port of Basra with Baghdad, with future extensions linking Iraq to Turkey and Europe.
“This is not just a transport project but a strategic initiative to position Iraq as a regional rail and road hub,” Safi said, adding that the plan includes reviving old railway lines stretching from Basra to Baghdad and onwards to northern provinces, with talks underway with the World Bank to finalise funding.
He said railway lines currently operating toward the Middle Euphrates, and from Baghdad to Basra through the southern provinces remain operational.
A project to connect the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf via an 85-kilometre railway is being planned, he added.
The multi-modal Development Road project includes a 1,200-kilometre railway and a parallel motorway traversing 11 provinces up to the northern border with Turkey. Iraq recently joined the global TIR system for truck transport as part of a broader vision to develop an integrated transport network.
(Writing by N Saeed & Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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