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- Project is expected to create an average of 70,000 jobs annually while offering an alternative trade route between Gulf countries and Europe, says transport minister
By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Development Road Project is expected to contribute around $55 billion to Türkiye's economy over 10 years, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Monday.
Speaking at a conference in Ankara, Uraloglu said the project would also provide employment opportunities for an average of 70,000 people annually while strengthening Türkiye's position in global trade and supporting Iraq's economic reconstruction.
The planned corridor will connect Iraq's Grand Faw Port in the Gulf to Europe through Türkiye, integrating railways and roads with energy transmission lines, fiber-optic infrastructure, and oil and natural gas pipelines.
“For our country alone, we foresee the project contributing approximately $55 billion to our economy over a 10-year period and, through the establishment of production and logistics centers, providing employment opportunities for an average of 70,000 citizens each year,” he said.
Uraloglu said tensions around the Strait of Hormuz and the Russia-Ukraine war had exposed vulnerabilities in global transport networks, prompting countries to seek safer, shorter and more predictable routes.
The Development Road would offer a strategic alternative that reduces dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, particularly for cargo moving from Gulf countries to Europe, he said.
He added that the route could cut journey times to approximately 25 days, compared with 45 days via the Cape of Good Hope and 35 days along the Southern Corridor.
- Complementary trade routes
Uraloglu said Türkiye viewed the Development Road as complementary to existing trade networks, including the Middle Corridor linking China and Central Asia to Europe through the Caspian Sea and Türkiye.
“As Türkiye, located at the heart of the Middle Corridor, managing the Turkish Straits and building the Development Road, we are clearly demonstrating both at the negotiating table and on the ground: There can be no corridor without Türkiye,” he said.
Existing, ongoing and planned Turkish railway lines connecting to the Middle Corridor total 2,156 kilometers (1,340 miles) , with completed and planned investments amounting to $47.1 billion, he said.
The minister said the Development Road Project could help Iraq diversify away from oil revenues, generate transit trade income and strengthen its role as a regional commercial hub.
He recalled agreements signed by Türkiye and Iraq on July 28 this year, saying the two countries planned to secure parliamentary approval before beginning construction.
These include a memorandum on rail and road transport through the Fishkhabur-Ovakoy border crossing and a framework agreement to develop transport infrastructure in Iraq in exchange for natural resources.
Uraloglu also pointed to a recently signed railway cooperation memorandum with Saudi Arabia, saying efforts to revive the historic Hejaz Railway would create additional connections from the Gulf through Türkiye to Europe.
“The Development Road Project has the potential to reintegrate the Middle East's fragmented geoeconomic structure, transform Iraq into one of the crossroads of regional trade and strengthen Türkiye's position in global connectivity networks,” he said.
Mücahithan Avcıoğlu
