Erbil, Baghdad yet to agree on Kurdistan’s inclusion in Development Road: PM advisor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Talks between Erbil and Baghdad are underway over the inclusion of the Kurdistan Region’s in the country’s billion-dollar Development Road Project, an advisor to the Iraqi premier confirmed to Rudaw on Sunday, elaborating however that a final agreement has yet to be reached.

Nasser al-Asadi, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on transport affairs, told Rudaw that “discussions between Erbil and Baghdad are continuing,” adding that “while a final deal has not yet been reached,” he remains positive that “God willing, we will reach an agreement in the end; we are optimistic.”

The Development Road Project is a major infrastructure initiative planned to span nearly 1,200 kilometers, beginning at the Grand Faw Port in the southern province of Basra on the Gulf and extending north to the border between the Kurdistan Region and southeastern Turkey.

The $17 billion project aims to connect Iraq to regional and international trade routes through an integrated railway and highway network. It is expected to generate annual revenues of $4 billion. The first phase is scheduled for completion by 2028, with full completion slated for 2050.

According to a 2024 project map obtained by Rudaw, only 12 kilometers of the road are set to pass through the Kurdistan Region, partly through the Fishkhabour area of the Zakho administration in the Region’s northern Duhok province. The same map shows that 317 kilometers of the project will pass through Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, which borders Duhok and Erbil provinces.

The latter map shows that less than one percent of the Development Road Project would traverse territory administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), raising concerns in Erbil that the plan excludes major highway or railway links to the Region.

The KRG has warned that centralizing trade routes through federal territories could weaken the Region’s control over cross-border trade and customs revenues.

In late August, a delegation from the KRG’s transport and communications ministry met with Iraqi ministers in Baghdad, formally proposing an alternative route that would incorporate more of the Region’s territory. Although Kurdish officials described the meeting as “positive,” it did not result in a final agreement.

KRG Transport Minister Ano Jawhar then stressed the necessity of including the Region, stating, “The Development Road Project cannot be implemented without the Kurdistan Region, because if it does not pass through the Region, it will have no other way to reach Turkiye.”

However, the federal government maintained a firm stance, with Iraqi Planning Minister Mohammed Tamim insisting in late August that the project was “federal” and would remain under Baghdad’s control.

Asadi told Rudaw on Sunday that “the technical designs for both the railway line and the land expressway have been completed, with final government approval still pending,” adding that “once the project is formally approved, the tendering process will begin.”

Iraq’s transport ministry also confirmed Sunday that substantial progress has been made on the project’s technical and economic preparations.

The ministry noted in a statement that railway designs “are 87 percent complete, while highway designs have reached 73 percent,” adding that “the project’s economic model has been finalized.”

It added that a “comprehensive strategy developed by consulting firm Oliver Wyman - covering governance, economic planning for rail and road networks, investment opportunities, and international investor relations - has been officially adopted.”

The Development Road Project is intended to help shift Iraq “from a rentier economy to a diversified economy that provides employment for Iraqi citizens,” the ministry said, noting it will create “an estimated 100,000 direct jobs and 1.6 million indirect job opportunities.”

Earlier this month, ministry Spokesperson Maysam al-Safi told Rudaw that a “basic version” of the project would be completed by the end of December. He said this milestone would open the door for companies to participate in the tendering and implementation process.

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