Iraq advances $17bn Development Road megaproject connecting Gulf to Europe via Turkey

Iraq is pushing ahead with plans for one of its largest strategic infrastructure projects, the Development Road, which will connect the Arabian Gulf to Europe via Turkey over a distance exceeding 1,200 kilometres.

According to the Ministry of Transport, 60 percent of the project's strategic designs and maps have been completed, paving the way for the first phase of implementation to begin before the end of this year.

The project is expected to become a major economic and logistical hub by developing ports, transport networks, railways, and highways, and attracting significant foreign investment in the transport and logistics sectors.

It is also seen as a cornerstone in Iraq's plans to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on oil revenues by turning its geographic position into an active regional and international trade corridor. With an estimated cost of $17 billion, the project aims to make Iraq a regional transport centre by linking its southern regions to the Turkish border in the north.

Recent weeks have seen joint technical meetings between Baghdad and Ankara to discuss mechanisms for border linkage and determine the final outlet for the trade corridor.

Preparations are also underway for the launch of the international investment phase, aimed at attracting infrastructure and port companies and strengthening cooperation with Turkey in transport and energy.

The Ministry of Transport’s official spokesman, Maytham al-Safi, said the ministry had completed a review of the financial and economic model for the Development Road in coordination with US consultancy Oliver Wyman, "in preparation for presenting it to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani during a meeting of the project’s higher committee, as part of ongoing preparations to launch the international investment phase".

Al-Safi told The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the ministry was "working to accelerate coordination with technical partners and international advisers to ensure the project is presented in its complete form to the international community, in a way that reflects Iraq’s new image as an attractive country for investment and lays the foundation for a different economic phase based on diversification and commercial openness."

He added that recent weeks had seen "joint technical meetings between Baghdad and Ankara to discuss mechanisms for border linkage and determine the final outlet for the trade corridor, in preparation for launching the project’s international investment phase".

Turkish economic researcher Enver Demir described the Development Road as "a strategic opportunity for both Iraq and Turkey to strengthen their economic partnership and expand cooperation in the fields of energy, trade, and logistics services".

He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the project was "not merely a transport corridor, but a fully integrated investment platform that will help attract international capital and connect Iraqi ports to European markets via Turkish territory".

According to Demir, "the current phase of the project has seen the completion of the financial and economic model in cooperation with the U.S. consulting firm Oliver Wyman, in preparation for launching the first phase of implementation and announcing the international investment phase soon".

"Turkey views the project as an important pillar for reactivating and expanding the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline within a framework that encompasses oil, gas, and electricity, with the possibility of turning Turkey into a key regional transit hub," he added.

Experts say the project will not be limited to transport and infrastructure, but will also open new horizons for regional cooperation, especially in the energy sector, and represents an opportunity to establish a long-term partnership between Ankara and Baghdad that prevents legal disputes and lays the foundations for comprehensive cooperation in oil and gas.