ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region’s reconstruction minister on Tuesday criticised the federal government for excluding the Kurdish region in the strategic Development Road between Baghdad and Ankara. A top Iraqi advisor said Duhok province is also included in the project.
“For this project to have the greatest effectiveness and positive impact on the Iraqi economy, the project track must be reviewed so that the Kurdistan Region is included in this major project,” Dana Abdulkarim, Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister for Housing and Reconstruction, said during a panel at the Iraq Development Platform conference in Baghdad.
“The project's route has been directed through an area that approaches the Kurdistan Region, going towards the west of the Tigris River, an area that has low population density and lacks major factories and commercial activities,” the minister later told Rudaw.
“The Kurdistan Region has been ignored in this route, and thus the Kurdistan Region will certainly not benefit from this project,” he added.
The Development Road project is planned from southern Iraq to the Turkish border, connecting the Persian Gulf with Turkey. It aims to enhance Iraq’s geopolitical position, boost the economy, and create thousands of job opportunities. The route is expected to link Iraq with the European Union via Turkey.
“We have requested several times to review the Development Road with the federal government and to adjust its route in a way that would make the Kurdistan Region part of this important project, because the Kurdistan Region is economically important and would have an effective role in advancing Iraq's economy, but unfortunately we haven't received a positive response,” he noted during his interview with Rudaw.
Nasser al-Asadi, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani for transport affairs, took part in the same panel.
“I will not speak politically, but technically - as a specialist with 35 years of experience in this field and in major global projects. In the current situation, we want to overcome the issue of congestion on roads and streets within the provinces, so we created a track away from these provinces to create new cities, new activities, and new possibilities within Iraqi society and fabric,” he noted.
“Therefore, when we say that the path does pass through Kurdistan Region, it also does not pass through Amarah, Diyala, Baghdad, or Kirkuk - meaning half of Iraq is not covered by it. The project's purpose is not to enter all Iraqi cities; on the contrary, it's to create an international economic corridor and also breakthrough opportunities with new economic cities,” he added.
“The [Kurdistan] Region will benefit the same way the rest of Iraq benefits [from the project]. All Iraqi cities will benefit from this project, especially since it passes through the city of Duhok . There will be connections between all Iraqi cities that the project does not directly pass through and the project itself, through local road networks and existing railway networks,” he said, adding that it will pass through Duhok province for more than 11 kilometers.
Sudani, who attended the same conference, also touched on the importance of the project for Iraq.
“We have included in the design of the development road path lines for transporting oil and gas, in addition to communications to achieve the connection between Asia and Europe, and provide investment opportunities,” he said.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly called for the Kurdistan Region to be included in the project.
