Iraq’s Transport Ministry is planning to build 30 train stations for freight and passengers as part of its USD 17 bn Development Road Project , Transport Minister Razzak Al Saadawi announced at the seventh edition of the Iraqi Ambassadors Conference, according to a statement. Some 15 stations will be dedicated to freight transport, while 15 will be dedicated to passengers, Al Sadawi said, adding that they will be distributed across 11 governorates.

We’re still in the planning stage: Almost 50% of the rail and motorway designs have been completed, Saadawi said, adding that the feasibility study for the project has already been approved.

But the ministry has fleshed out plans for the dual highway: The dual highway, which will start from the Faw port and will be linked to Turkey via the Faysh Khabur on the northern border of the Kurdistan region in Iraq.

And some of the fine print for the railway: The speed for the passengers’ train will reportedly be 300 km per hour, while freight trains will run at some 140 km per hour, Saadawi added. The trains are also set to be electric, the statement adds.

Refresher: Iraq’s ambitious USD 17 bn Development Road project aims to link its planned Grand Faw Port in Iraq’s southern Basra province to Turkey in the north through rail and road infrastructure in a bid to rival Egypt’s Suez Canal.

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