The Jordanian government has formally approved a 500km railway line from the port of Aqaba to the Iraqi border near Traibil, the Iraqi Transport Ministry has reported.
A spokesman for the Public Railway Company (PRC), Jawad al-Kharasan, told AKnews that Iraq has begun construction of the railway line from Ramadi to the border in order to meet up with the Jordanian side of the line.
The railway will improve the direct connection between Iraq and Jordan in order to support commercial and industrial cooperation between the two countries. Trade between Iraq and Jordan is worth $1bn a year.
The PRC enlisted the German Deutsche group at a cost of $33m to develop the railway line within Iraq. The Iraqi government expects the transport capacity of the railway line with Jordan to reach six-million tons a year. The top speed of the trains will be 180km/h.
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