The Development Road project, which aims to connect Asia with Europe, will realize a total investment plan of $19.9 billion by the time the planned railway and road projects are completed, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday.
Uraloğlu stated that international cooperation negotiations are still ongoing and Türkiye and Iraq are working on the follow-up of the project.
Last week, the minister said preparations are nearing completion for a megaproject that will serve as a new freight link between Asia and Europe via upgraded rail and road infrastructure through Iraq and Türkiye.
“We're advancing with the project. We're currently working on financing and operational details and aim to begin construction next year," he said.
Dubbed the Development Road, the project is expected to facilitate the transport of goods from the Gulf to Europe via the Grand Faw Port in Basra in southern Iraq. The port would be linked to Türkiye and subsequently to Europe through an extensive network of railways and highways.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani inaugurated five docks at Grand Faw Port.
"There will be 2,094 kilometers (1,301 miles) of railway connections from Türkiye, and for this, we will build 1,655 kilometers of railways in addition to the 439-kilometer line that already exists, and an investment of $17.9 billion will be realized by then," the minister told AA.
He highlighted that the construction of 928 kilometers of railways is still ongoing with an allocated budget of $7.1 billion, and plans are underway to build 727 kilometers of additional railways, starting from the southeastern Şırnak province's Ovaköy village and 501 kilometers between Nusaybin district on the Syrian border in Mardin province, and the provinces of Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep.
"Some 106 kilometers of railways will be built for the Yenice-Ulukışla section and 120 kilometers for Gebze and Çatalca, with a projected amount of $10.8 billion," said Uraloğlu.
As for highway investments, the minister stated that a total of 331 kilometers of highway will be built, including 23 kilometers for the Ovaköy-Cizre road and 308 kilometers from Cizre to Şanlıurfa, with a total of $2 billion allocated from the investments.
"The Development Road Project will play a key role in increasing regional cooperation and it is important for regional and global supply chains," the minister noted.
This project stands out as the shortest and the most practical project connecting the Persian Gulf to Europe, he added.
The minister earlier also noted that the project is expected to significantly reduce the time of transportation of goods compared to existing routes such as the Suez Canal and Cape of Good Hope.
Uraloğlu mentioned that the transportation projects are estimated to result in 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) cargo to be transported annually in the region.
