Türkiye aims to begin work this year on the Development Road, a planned transport corridor linking Iraq’s Grand Faw Port with Türkiye and Europe, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said.
Uraloğlu also rejected suggestions that a brief delay during a July 28 signing ceremony reflected disagreement between Ankara and Baghdad.
He said a technical detail was identified minutes before the ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, prompting Iraq’s transport minister to ask that it be corrected before the documents were signed.
“There was never any difference of opinion,” Uraloğlu told reporters in Ankara.
“It was a small omission identified at the last moment and corrected.”
The two documents were subsequently signed. They were among five agreements concluded during al-Zaidi’s visit and cover rail and road links through the Fishkhabur-Ovaköy border crossing and a framework for developing transport infrastructure in Iraq in exchange for natural resources.
The Development Road is expected to run about 1,200 kilometers from Grand Faw Port in southern Iraq to Türkiye, incorporating railway, highway, energy transmission and communications links. Uraloğlu estimated that the railway section alone would cost about $15 billion.
He said the railway would be given priority because a usable road already exists along parts of the route, while the rail line would have to be built from scratch.
“Our goal is to break ground this year,” he said, adding that the project could be completed within four to five years once financing and permits were in place. Türkiye and Iraq would examine whether that timetable could be shortened after construction begins, he added.
The financing framework under discussion envisages Turkish contractors carrying out infrastructure projects in return for Iraqi natural resources, including oil.
Uraloğlu said the corridor would provide an alternative to maritime chokepoints and reduce the impact of disruptions in routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.
He also discussed the planned railway across Istanbul’s Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which would provide a higher-capacity freight connection between Asia and Europe.
The tender for the 122.3-kilometer double-track line from Gebze to Çatalca is scheduled for Oct. 14. Six international financial institutions have reached a preliminary agreement to provide $6.75 billion for the project, with construction expected to begin in 2027.
