$17b Iraq project to fast-track economy

High-speed rail and road link aims to cut travel time between Asia and Europe

The linking of Grand Faw Port in Iraq’s oil-rich south with Turkey will turn the country into a transit hub by shortening travel time.

Iraq launched a $17 billion project yesterday to link a major commodities port on its southern coast by rail and roads to the border with Turkey, in a move designed to transform the country’s economy after decades of war and crisis.

The Development Road aims to tie the Grand Faw Port in Iraq’s oil-rich south to Turkey, turning the country into a transit hub by shortening travel time between Asia and Europe in a bid to rival the Suez Canal.

“The Development Road is not just a road to move goods or passengers. This road opens the door to development of vast areas of Iraq,” Farhan Al Fartousi, director general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, told Reuters.

Iraq’s government envisions high-speed trains moving goods and passengers at up to 300 kilometres per hour, links to local industry hubs and an energy component that could include oil and gas pipelines. It would mark a significant departure from the country’s existing aged transport network.

The Grand Faw Port, which was devised over a decade ago, is halfway to completion, Fartousi said.

Passenger transport between Iraq and Europe harkens back to grand plans at the turn of the 20th century to create a Baghdad to Berlin expressway.

“We will make this line active again and tie it to other countries,” Fartousi said, noting plans to ferry tourists and pilgrims to Shiite holy sites in Iraq and to Makkah for Haj.

The project was announced at a conference aimed at courting Arab interest, including from Arab Gulf states, Syria and Jordan. A senior government aide said regional investment was on the table.