Iraq unveils ambitious Gulf road and rail project to Turkey

Iraq presented this Saturday, May 27, a project to build a road and a railway linking the Gulf to Turkey, two works intended to place on the world transport route a country emerging from several decades of conflict.

Aerial view of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, February 8, 2023. (Illustrative image) AFP - MURTAJA LATEEF

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The project, valued at $17 billion by the Iraqi government, is still in its infancy. The first shovel of this 1,200-kilometre corridor has not been given. According to Baghdad's wishes, the road and railway will have to be carried out in cooperation with countries in the region: Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Syria, Oman, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Their representatives were also invited this Saturday, May 27 to the presentation of this "Road of Development" in the Iraqi capital.

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We see this sustainable project as a pillar of the economy that will no longer be based on oil. " Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Sudani said at the opening of the meeting. "It is a link that will serve Iraq's neighbors and the region and (will contribute) to economic integration," where the Gulf plays a major role in global shipping, he added. Each country that so wishes "will be able to carry out part of the project", explained the Transport Committee of the Iraqi Parliament, which estimates that the project could be completed "within three to five years".

"Interdependence"

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The Development Road will boost interdependence among the countries of the region "assured in his speech the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad, Ali Riza Güney, without specifying how much his country, Iraq's essential economic partner, intended to contribute financially.

Ravaged by decades of war and pervasive corruption, hydrocarbon-rich Iraq has a huge infrastructure problem. Riddled with potholes, poorly maintained, its roads are in a sorry state. And those linking Baghdad to the north pass through some areas where Islamic State cells are still active sporadically.

Mohamed Chia al-Soudani insists that the rehabilitation of the road network is one of his priorities, along with the upgrading of the electricity network, equally defective. The road and rail corridor should allow Iraq to capitalise on its geographical position and make this country a hinge for the transport of goods and people between the Gulf and Turkey, and then Europe. The project provides for the construction of about fifteen stations along the route, including Basra in the south of the country, Baghdad and Mosul in the north, up to the border with Turkey.

>> Also listen: The rural exodus in Iraq: the social risk of ever faster climate change

A lack of "fluidity"

Major works are already underway to develop the capacity of the commercial and industrial port of Fao, on the shores of the Gulf, where goods will be unloaded before using the new road or rail. The Gulf, bordered in particular by Iran and Saudi Arabia, is a major maritime transport area, especially for hydrocarbons extracted in the countries of the region.

But Zyad al-Hashemi, an Iraqi consultant in international transport, questions the viability of the Iraqi project, pointing to its lack of "fluidity". "Customers prefer to transport their goods directly from Asia to Europe without going through a loading and unloading process," between container ships and road or rail, he told AFP.

Transport is one of the key sectors of the global economy. Other colossal projects also put flows at the heart of their ambition, such as the "New Silk Roads", launched in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Officially called the Belt and Road, the 130-nation project aims to develop land and sea infrastructure to better connect China with Asia, Europe and Africa.

>> Read also: Turkey stops importing oil from Iraqi Kurdistan

(

With AFP)

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• Turkey
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