Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Transport announced on Saturday, October 10, 2026, active diplomatic and financial maneuvers to conclude an oil-for-financing bilateral pact with Turkey.
The proposed framework aims to establish a dedicated sovereign investment vehicle to fund the construction of the multi-billion-dollar Development Road project by Turkish contracting conglomerates, while international multilateral lenders anchor the initiative’s foundational phase.
Speaking to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Fadhil Abbas, Director of Projects at the General Company for Railways of Iraq (GCRI), explained that the Development Road corridor has entered detailed engineering and design phases.
The transnational initiative aims to overhaul Iraq’s domestic rail grid, integrate internal provincial passenger transit, and establish a high-capacity freight transit land bridge channeling trade flows directly between the Grand Faw Port in Basra and European destinations via Turkey.
Abbas outlined that bilateral talks are progressing toward a binding bilateral accord with Ankara to create a project funding pool backed by Iraqi crude allocations, ensuring seamless capital deployment for Turkish construction firms tasked with building core rail, terminal, and highway segments.
In parallel, Abbas disclosed that the first operational stage of the corridor is advancing under World Bank loan financing. This foundational phase focuses on rehabilitating and upgrading existing mainline rail infrastructure stretching from Baghdad south to Basra and Umm Qasr, as well as north from the capital through Mosul.
The program will physically link these tracks with the deepwater terminals at Grand Faw Port and the northern Turkish international boundary crossing at Fishkhabur.
On the western rail network, GCRI is finalizing restoration work on the strategic Baghdad–Akashat line, bringing critical industrial and mineral transit corridors back online following extensive damage inflicted by Islamic State militants.
Abbas noted that most sectors along the alignment alongside key rail bridges have been restored, leaving only the minor Wadi Fatm bridge, which is currently undergoing final contract awarding.
Addressing urban mass transit, Abbas confirmed that administrative oversight of the Baghdad Metro project has been transferred from the railway company to the Mayoralty of Baghdad, which is currently managing its private investment tendering process.
He clarified that GCRI does not currently retain any tram or inner-city metro portfolios within its active infrastructure mandate.
