BAGHDAD: The World Bank has announced a $900 million financing package for Iraq to improve its road infrastructure, including links to neighboring Turkiye, Syria, and Jordan.
Iraq is, after many years, experiencing a period of relative stability that has enabled new economic projects and major investments.
A major focus has been on transport infrastructure, much of which has crumbled over decades of public-sector negligence and corruption and 40 years of armed conflict.
The financing aims to “make travel safer and more reliable, and create opportunities for people and businesses across the country,” the World Bank said in a statement.
The project will focus on two corridors, it said, “a north-south corridor linking Baghdad to the Turkish border through Expressway 2, and an east-west corridor along Expressway 1 connecting Baghdad with Syria and Jordan.”
The World Bank said it expected around 8 million people, close to 17 percent of the country’s population, to benefit from the project.
Iraq is highly dependent on road transport, and is also a key transit route for trucks traversing the region.
The World Bank previously announced $930 million in financing for the modernization of Iraq’s railway network.
