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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Development Road project from southern Iraq to the Turkish border is set to cost $18 billion and the amount is 'subject to increase,' an advisor to Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday.
'The infrastructure costs between $17-18 billion and is subject to increase, depending on the project's developments. The infrastructure will be owned by the Iraqi government, and there is also an investment structure that will be offered for investment to external parties and other countries,' Nasser al-Asadi, advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, told Rudaw's Nwenar Fatih at the Iraq Development Platform conference in Baghdad.
'We are looking to major international companies to form networks with our local companies, in order to start implementing this project,' he added.
The Development Road project is planned from southern Iraq to the Turkish border, connecting the Persian Gulf with Turkey. It aims to enhance Iraq's geopolitical position, boost the economy, and create thousands of job opportunities. The route is expected to link Iraq with the European Union via Turkey.
The project is expected to be finished by 2028.
'The infrastructure, which includes the railway, the road, and the rest of the project's components, will be completed within four years, meaning that by the end of 2028, there will be a ready road,' Asadi said.
Sudani, who attended the same conference, also touched on the importance of the project for Iraq.
'We have included in the design of the development road path lines for transporting oil and gas, in addition to communications to achieve the connection between Asia and Europe, and provide investment opportunities,' he said.
On Tuesday, Asadi told Rudaw that the project extends more than 11 kilometers through Kurdistan Region's Duhok province.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly called for the Kurdistan Region to be included in the project.
'There is a great understanding between the brothers in the [Kurdistan] regional government and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad regarding the route of the road,' Asadi explained.
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