By John Lee.
The Italian consultancy BTP Infrastrutture has reportedly completed between 70 and 75 percent of the final designs and studies for Iraq's Development Road Project, which will link Basra to the Turkish border via a railway and international highway.
Project Director Guido Bonini told the state-owned Iraqi News Agency (INA) that BTP has submitted comprehensive designs and studies to the Ministry of Transport and is collaborating with partners such as Oliver Wyman to ensure high technical standards. He added that countries including Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman have expressed interest in participating, with Saudi Arabia expected to join once studies are complete.
The plan includes a high-speed passenger rail line, with trains expected to run at up to 300 km/h, cutting travel time between Basra and Baghdad to about 90 minutes. The project will also feature a connected highway from Umm Qasr to northern Iraq for cargo transport.
The Development Road is expected to create between 100,000 and 150,000 jobs and stimulate national economic growth. The long-term plan, extending to 2050, envisions the establishment of industrial and economic cities along the route, including oil and petrochemical facilities in Basra and agricultural processing plants in Karbala and Najaf.
Bonini said the remaining 25 percent of design work will be completed within the next three months, after which the Ministry of Transport will launch a global tender platform for international companies to bid on the project's execution phase.
BTP Infrastrutture was de-merged from Progetti Europa & Global S.p.A. (PEG), changing its name from PEG Infrastrutture S.p.A. to BTP Infrastrutture in March 2022.
(Source: INA)
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