The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has conducted auctions for the road and rail projects planned under the Development Road Project and the Zangezur Corridor, determining the investment amounts, according to an Anadolu Agency (AA) report Sunday.
According to information obtained by AA, the Development Road Project, which will transport goods from India to Iraq, East Asia and the Persian Gulf through the Great Faw Port utilizing both railway and road connections to reach Europe, continues with investments from the Turkish and Iraqi governments.
The project is expected to play a significant role in handling goods arriving at the port from major countries such as China and India. The Development Road, considered the most economical route, is expected to provide potential benefits to a vast geography extending from Europe to the Gulf region, further strengthening Türkiye's position on the new Silk Road.
Under the project, the cargo handled in the Persian Gulf will be transported to Europe via Türkiye without transshipment due to the presence of Marmaray.
Besides ongoing efforts in the Development Road Project, the Turkish and Iraqi governments are set to invest $23.8 billion (TL 686.91 billion), with Türkiye set to carry out these investments in railways and roads.
As part of the aforementioned project, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has planned 615 kilometers (382 miles) of new railway for the existing 2,088-kilometer railway connection passing through the country and 320 kilometers of new highway for the 1,912-kilometer road corridor.
Regarding the railway network, while 439 kilometers of the existing network are currently in place, 1,034 kilometers are tagged as ongoing, and 615 additional kilometers are planned. The planned railway networks are located between Gaziantep and Ovaköy, with an investment of $5.8 billion for this railway.
Meanwhile, the length of the road passing through the country as part of the project is set to be 1,912 kilometers. While 1,592 kilometers of these roads are currently in place, planning has been made for 320 kilometers. The investment amount for the planned road between Şanlıurfa and Ovaköy is estimated to be $2 billion.
The Zangezur Corridor, which on the other hand will provide direct railway and road transportation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan should establish a new connection between Türkiye and Central Asia.
With the corridor, the Baku Port is set to be directly connected to Türkiye. The ministry, planning a new railway line of 224 kilometers from Kars to Dilucu, conducted the auction for the railway line passing through the Zangezur Corridor from the 'Middle Corridor' routes.
