Iraq’s Development Road +$4B trade corridor finalized

Shafaq News/ Iraq completed the first section of the Development Road project and began the handover process, the General Company for Ports announced on Saturday.

Company Director Farhan Al-Fartousi told Shafaq News that 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 kilometers, and then continues from the tunnel to the main Safwan road for an additional 11 kilometers, bringing the total length of this segment to 62 km,” he explained.

The project includes two major bridges—one measuring 805 meters and the other 300 meters in length. The road will also be equipped with a solar-powered lighting system implemented by Samsung, aimed at providing sustainable energy and advanced technology.

Last month, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced that Turkiye plans to finalize 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 $4.6B and spans 54 square km. It is expected to have a capacity of 99M tons annually, positioning it among the largest ports in the Gulf and the tenth largest globally.