Iraq reports completion of part of 'Development Road'
Iraq has completed the first section of the Development Road project and started the handover process, the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) has announced.
Company Director Farhan Al-Fartousi said the road is being built with three lanes designated for heavy trucks and cargo.
'The first section of the road stretches from Grand Al-Faw Port to the submerged tunnel, covering 51 kilometres (km), and then continues from the tunnel to the main Safwan road for an additional 11km, bringing the total length of this segment to 62 km,' he said, quoted by Shafaq News and other Iraqi outlets on Sunday.
The project includes two major bridges—one measuring 805 metres and the other 300 metres in length, he noted.
The road will also be equipped with a solar-powered lighting system implemented by South Korea's Samsung company, aimed at providing sustainable energy and advanced technology, he added.
Last month, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced that Ankara intends to finalise an agreement with Iraq 'very soon' on the Development Road project.
The Grand Al-Faw Port is a strategic megaproject located on Al-Faw Peninsula in Basra province, southern Iraq. It aims to transform the country into a regional trade hub by connecting it to global transport networks.
The port project is estimated to cost around $4.6 billion and spans 54 square km. It is expected to have a capacity of 99 million tonnes annually, positioning it among the largest ports in the Gulf and the tenth largest globally.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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