In September 2023, during the G20 summit, Indian Prime Minister Modi announced a new infrastructure project connecting India to Europe via the Middle East, known as IMEC. Although the project is still under discussion and enjoys the support of some regional and major powers, it has faced numerous obstacles since its announcement: the wars in Gaza and Iran have significantly slowed down its implementation. Resistance from countries in the region, particularly Turkey, to a project that bypasses its territory also creates additional challenges. However, before IMEC, another very costly and ambitious project was announced, which many researchers view as a competitor to the India-Middle East- Europe corridor. This refers to the Development Road project, which will connect the Iraqi port of Al-Faw on the Persian Gulf to Turkey by rail, then extend to Europe via Turkish transport routes. Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani put forward this bold plan in late May 2023.

During the conference in Baghdad, Iraq announced its decision to establish a new land and rail route that will enable Iraq to become a key hub for freight transport between the Middle East and Europe. The project cost approximately $17 billion, and the communication route in Iraq is about 1,200 km long. 

Many countries in the region, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, were supposed to participate in the Development Road project. In his opening speech at the conference, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani noted:  “We view this project as a cornerstone of a sustainable, oil-independent economy, as a bridge that will also promote economic integration. 

The Turkish ambassador was also present at the conference and stated that Turkey “is a key partner on this development road, which benefits everyone.”

This project can really have a huge impact on Iraq’s economy, both during the construction phase,  as it will involve the building of roads, a railway, about 15 stations, and other infrastructures, and as a transit country, since it will increase the country’s financial revenues. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2029, and by 2050, the infrastructure will be fully developed, enabling an annual increase in trade volume.  

The first hub of the Development Road project will be the port of Al-Faw in Iraq’s oil-rich south, which will also connect the country to Turkey by land. "The Development Road is not just a road to move goods or passengers. This road opens the door to the development of vast areas of Iraq," noted Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq.

The Iraqi government plans to launch high-speed freight and passenger trains capable of reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h. Like almost all modern economic corridors and transport routes, the Development Road also includes parallel infrastructure: oil pipelines, fiber-optic cables, and more.  

This project is especially significant when compared to Iraq’s old railway system, which takes 10 to 12 hours to cover the 500 km distance from Baghdad to Basra.  

Although Iraq is the first beneficiary of the Development Road, there is active discussion about its internationalization. It is not excluded that in the future the railway will connect with the rail networks of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, which would also create significant opportunities for Turkey by providing it with rail access to the Persian Gulf.  

History

The idea of building a road to promote development is not new. In the early 20th century, Germany initiated and partially implemented an ambitious project known as the Berlin-Baghdad-Basra railway. The purpose of this structure, which was extremely complex for its time, was to bypass the Suez Canal, which, as is well known, belonged to the British Empire. Although today, at least on the surface, the authors of the Development Road do not raise this issue, their geopolitical goals are very similar. In the early 20th century, construction of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway was suspended after 1918 and completed in 1940. Although the railway is functioning, it does not reach the Iraqi seaport of Basra. Nearly 100 years later, the Iraqi government is attempting to bring this project from the turn of the century to fruition. 

The Development Road project, aimed at developing transportation infrastructure, was also discussed at the end of the 20th century: at that time, the route connecting Iraq and Turkey was also known as the “Dry Canal”.

Al-Faw Seaport 

As we mentioned earlier, the Development Road begins at the port of Al-Faw on Iraq’s Persian Gulf coast. This is where the first stage of construction for this multi-billion-dollar project began. Construction of the Al-Faw port in Southern Iraq began about 10 years ago, but has faced significant delays, partly due to funding issues and political factors. 

Master plan of the port calls for the construction of a large-scale complex of container, dry cargo, and oil terminals with a total annual throughput capacity of 99 million tons, as well as a dry dock and a naval base. 

The South Korean company Daewoo E&C  is constructing the first phase of the port under a $2.7  billion contract.

Construction of the first stage of the physical infrastructure reached a major milestone in November 2024, when Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani officially inaugurated the completed facility. In 2025 and 2026, maintenance work, underwater construction of various structures and sea trials were successfully carried out. 

The main goal of the first stage of construction was to create maritime infrastructure capable of handling millions of tons of cargo. Construction of 5 concrete piers, specifically designed to handle large international container ships, has now been completed. The world’s longest breakwater, stretching about 14km, was built to protect the port from the currents of the Persian Gulf.     

The main construction of the 2.44 km long Khor Al-Zubair underwater tunnel has also been completed. Running along the bottom of the shipping channel and built at a depth of nearly 30 meters, the tunnel directly connects the coastal container terminals with the highway near the  Umm Qasr Port.  

As a result of extensive earthwork and dredging operations, a channel 17-18 meters deep was excavated, enabling the port to accommodate large, modern vessels. The main constructor for marine construction and the construction of berths at the port is the South Korean infrastructure giant Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C). Daewoo has signed key contracts with the General  Company for Iraqi Ports  (GCPI) to carry out projects. Furthermore, to maximize the economic potential of the port and the surrounding area, Iraq has signed parallel contracts with the China National Chemical Engineering Corporation (CNCEC) for the construction of an oil refining and petrochemical complex with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The technical details for the wider corridor were developed by the Italian company PEG Infrastructure. 

The contract with Daewoo E&C for the first stage of offshore construction was valued at approximately $2.7 billion. However, when taking into account the broader infrastructure ecosystem of the first stage, including agreements with oil refineries, regional dredging projects, and major connecting highways, the total government funding for the launch site will range from $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion. 

AD Ports, a company based in the United Arab Emirates with operations in more than 40 countries, is also involved in the Development Road construction project. In April 2024, the company signed an agreement with the General Company for Ports of Iraq to develop the Greater Port of Al-Faw and the adjacent economic zone. 

Competition with the Suez Canal 

Shortly after the project was announced, the media and think tanks began discussing the potential competition between the Development Road project and the Suez Canal project. According to preliminary estimates, the Suez Canal will always remain important: when comparing maritime and land freight transport, maritime transport remains the preferred option due to its flexibility: trains have limited capacity and volume, whereas shipping containers can carry cargo of various sizes depending on the size of the vessel. In addition, sea freight is the preferred method for transporting bulk and oversized cargo. 

Geopolitical factors are no less important: the Development Road is fraught with a number of local challenges stemming from political tensions among various countries and powers. Despite cautious optimism, the Development Road can become a serious competitor to the Suez Canal for several key reasons. Firstly, perhaps it is worth mentioning the most critical component for communication channels and supply chains, time. If this road is operated at full capacity, shipments from China and Europe will arrive 15 days earlier.  

Geopolitical complications that arise from time to time in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which serves as the entrance to the Suez Canal, are also significant. Due to regional and geopolitical complications and conflicts, the strait may be closed, or shipping traffic may be restricted, which is already having a direct impact on the Suez Canal. Although the Egyptian authorities are doing everything in their power to ensure the smooth flow of traffic through the Suez Canal, problems  can arise at any time.  

Turkey’s role in the Development Road

Turkey’s role in the Development Road project is crucial. Being the final stop on the route to Europe and with its well-developed transportation infrastructure, Turkey supports this program. This will provide an opportunity to establish a direct link to the Persian Gulf via Iraqi territory, increase trade and strengthen geopolitical positions throughout the Middle East. 
Shortly after the India-Middle East-Europe project was announced, Turkey expressed strong dissatisfaction because the IMEC bypasses it. “We say that there is no corridor without Turkey. The most convenient line for traffic from east to west has to pass through Turkey,” stated President Erdogan in September 2023.    

The Development Road allows bypassing one of the Red Sea’s most critical hubs, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where tensions escalated in 2023 and shipping traffic was partially disrupted.  

In May 2024, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu gave an interview to Al Jazeera in which he spoke at length about Turkey’s interests in the Development Road project. He noted that despite the project’s high cost, it offers significant advantages. By bypassing the Red Sea, shipping goods to Europe takes 25 days, which is about 30% less than when sailing around the African continent via the Cape of Good Hope.   

“Starting from the port of Faw, the project will shorten travel time by approximately 15 days compared to ships traveling to Europe via the Suez Canal. That will be possible due to a 1,200-kilometer railway and highway linking the port to the Turkish border, and opening a new door for regional trade. Ships depart from China, pass through the Cape of Good Hope, and arrive in London in about 45 days instead of 35 days, which means an increase of nearly 30% in costs and a noticeable time difference. In addition, insurance costs for ships using this route have increased significantly. Therefore, if we were to complete the development route project today, the 45-day timeframe would be reduced to 25 days, which would also lower costs,” said Uraloğlu. 

On April 22, 2024, a formal signing ceremony for a framework agreement on security, economic and development issues related to the Development Road project took place in Baghdad. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, UAE Minister of Energy Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Qatar’s Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al-Sulaiti and Iraq’s Minister of Transport Razak Muhaybas Al-Saadawi attended this ceremony. It should be noted that this was the Turkish president’s first visit to Iraq in the past 13 years. 

A few days later, Turkish Minister of Transport Uraloğlu spoke at a conference on road network development, noting that “Turkey occupies a strategic position on central and southern routes situated at the crossroads of northern and southern roads stretching from the Caucasus and Russia to Africa. ...This project is of inestimable importance both to us and to the other signatory states. Due to the significant growth in global trade volumes, freight transport is also on the rise. In any case, there will be a need for new roads and additional capacity, and naturally, the most attractive options will be preferred.”  

One of the key agreements reached during President Erdogan’s visit to Iraq was the establishment of a ministerial council to coordinate the construction and operation of the Development Road. The council’s first session, held in Istanbul, begins to establish the key mechanisms for cooperation. During the meeting, a roadmap for the project’s funding and operations was set forth, chief among which was the proposal to create a common funding system to which all stakeholders can easily send their funds for the project.  

This year, the importance of the Development Road was once again highlighted: against the backdrop of the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran, as well as disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Turkey has once again raised the issue of the Development Road, noting that it could serve as an “antidote to the Strait of Hormuz”. “The deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz has once again shown the strategic importance of the Development Road project. The Gulf countries have painfully experienced the cost of being dependent on Hormuz. We are seeing signs that they now have a new view of this project. The Development Road will be a strategic antidote to such crises. From the beginning, we have treated it not as a conventional road but as a multilayered trade corridor,” Turkish Minister of Transport Uraloğlu stated in early May of this year. 

According to some estimates, if the Development Road project is fully implemented, it could extend northeastward and eventually connect with the Middle Corridor. At this stage, this project may seem unrealistic, but we shouldn’t rule out that possibility. The Development Road has also attracted interest from Oman and Saudi Arabia, which are currently developing specific projects to connect with the Turkish railway system, while pursuing the long-term goal of linking the Persian Gulf with Europe.  

The Development Road also attracted some interest in Armenia: in October 2025, Naser al-Asadi, an advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, announced that the Sultanate of Oman and Armenia had officially applied to join the Development Road project.
“The Armenian ambassador to Iraq expressed a strong desire for his country to be part of the project, through the establishment of a free zone for Armenian industries and trade exchange with Iraq and the region,” said the advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister. 

Thus, we are witnessing the launch of yet another major infrastructure project that has been under discussion for decades. It is hard to say what events will unfold in the future and what fate awaits the Development Road, but today we can say that it could be of immense significance for both the Middle East and neighboring regions.