Iraq Opens First Section of Gulf to Europe Development Road

Dubai (PlantAndEquipment.com) - The first 63 kilometers of Iraq's Development Road project, which connects the international Safwan Highway in Basra Province to the Al-Faw Grand Port, was recently opened.

The newly built corridor links to the international highway after passing via the submerged tunnel toward Iraq's Umm Qasr and running from the entrance of Al-Faw Grand Port to the Khor Al-Zubair Channel. The stretch has two large bridges that are roughly 800 and 400 metres long.

The Development Road is a proposed 1,200-kilometer multimodal route that connects Iraq's border with Turkey with the Gulf coast at Al-Faw. The project, which is expected to cost $20 billion, aims to merge industrial zones, a railroad line, and a parallel highway.

The Development Road, along with the Al-Faw Grand Port, is a crucial component of Iraq's plan to establish itself as a center for regional commerce and transit, offering a direct logistical connection between Asia, the Gulf region, and Europe via well-coordinated road, rail, and port infrastructure.