Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq is discussing an oil-for-financing agreement with Turkey to establish a fund for the Development Road project, where Turkish companies will execute construction in exchange for crude oil, while the project’s first phase will be backed by a World Bank loan.
Director of Projects at the General Company for Iraqi Railways, Fadel Abbas, confirmed that a joint financial framework is being shaped to let Turkish firms carry out infrastructure works paid for through oil exports.
The initiative aims to upgrade Iraq’s railway network, connect several provinces, and provide passenger and freight transport services, according to Abbas.
The Development Road’s primary objective is to transport goods from al-Faw Grans Port to Turkey—and onward to Europe—and vice versa.
Work is currently underway to finalize an agreement with Turkey to establish a fund that would finance the project’s implementation by Turkish companies through an oil-for-financing arrangement, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The $17 billion project, which will connect the al-Faw Grand Port in southern Iraq to the Turkish border by constructing a railway and road network, is anticipated to transform Iraq into a transit center by cutting the time it takes to travel from Asia to Europe.
In addition to pipelines for energy transportation, the project’s railway will significantly assist in the transportation of commodities, with a first-phase capacity of 3.5 million tons and a second-phase capacity of 7.5 million tons.
By connecting the port city of Basra to Turkey via an overland route, the logistics project will compete with Egypt’s Suez Canal and establish Basra as a gateway to Europe.
