Progress made on Development Road, minister says

ANKARA

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced significant progress on the Development Road project, a major railway and highway initiative aimed at linking Iraq’s burgeoning Grand Faw Port to Türkiye.

The project spans around 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) and it will connect Iraq’s Basra city — home to the Grand Faw Port, poised to become the largest port in the Middle East — to Türkiye's southern border.

Once completed, the route will provide access to the Persian Gulf hinterland and facilitate trade between Europe and the Middle East via Türkiye.

Uraloğlu highlighted the ongoing development of the project in an interview with daily Hürriyet published on April 1.

The minister noted the collaboration between Türkiye and Iraq, as well as the financial support from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He also pointed out that international financial institutions are backing the initiative, with private sector involvement potentially playing a role.

Uraloğlu revealed that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is expected to visit Türkiye in the coming days, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may travel to Iraq in the first half of this year.

“We expect that the decisions made will be linked to agreements during these visits,” he said.

"The form of financing and how the construction of the Development Road will be managed is going to be clear."

The project was first proposed during Erdoğan's visit to Baghdad earlier this year. It has been framed as a potential alternative to the Suez Canal.

The first quadripartite meeting involving the transport ministers of Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the UAE took place in Istanbul on Aug. 29.

In addition, Uraloğlu addressed another infrastructure initiative during the interview.

He revealed plans to repair a 45-50 kilometer stretch of damaged railway from Syria's Meidan Ekbis town near the Turkish border to Damascus, extending the line to Aleppo.

This project is expected to cost an estimated 50-60 million euros, with efforts underway to secure financing, he said.