The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and representatives of Oliver Wyman, a renowned global management consulting firm based in New York, discussed on Sunday the basic concepts of the economic model for Iraq’s Development Road project.

In accordance with the Iraqi government’s vision for administrative reform and the move towards an electronic system in management, the two sides discussed project management concepts at both the short- and long-term levels during their meeting in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

As it will connect the Al-Faw Grand Port in southern Iraq to the border with Turkey by extending a railway and road network, Iraq’s $17 billion project is expected to make Iraq a transit hub by reducing the time it takes to go from Asia to Europe.

Iraq, Turkey, the UAE, and Qatar signed in April a quadripartite agreement on Iraq’s Development Road project aiming to enhance cooperation on Iraq’s strategic project, as the four countries will develop the necessary frameworks to carry out the project.

Al-Sudani mentioned previously that the railway’s capacity will be 3.5 million tons in the first phase and 7.5 million tons in the second.

Together with the Al-Faw Grand Port, the project will also feature pipelines for the transportation of energy and a highway for land transportation.

As a regional corridor to transport goods and energy, the Iraqi project will generate many job opportunities for the country and the countries of the region, as well as opportunities for industries and businessmen, and it will be a center attracting global trade.

The Iraqi Minister of Transport, Razzaq Al-Saadawi, revealed in early November that Turkey formed a council involving Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia to arrange the connection of Europe with Iraq’s Development Road.

Al-Saadawi mentioned that the ministry has already started working on the final designs of the Development Road’s railways after the initial designs have been completed.