Iraq’s budget for 2023 has provisions for the largest projects in five decades, as the country aims to leverage increased oil export revenues, reported Zawya.
Fadi Al-Shammari, a political adviser to the Prime Minister, stated that these projects, which are worth billions of dollars, primarily focus on the ‘Development Road.’ This initiative entails building a 1,200-kilometer railway line and the largest highway in the country.
Both the rail and the motorway will link Iraq’s Southern region through Faw Port with Turkey in the North and work is expected to be launched in 2023, he said.
Shammari was quoted by the official news agency on Friday as saying other “strategic projects” are also included in the budget that will be approved shortly by Parliament.
“The 2023 budget includes allocations for major projects that have not been seen by Iraq over the past 50 years…one of the largest projects is the Development Road which we consider as a watershed for Iraq in terms of trade and investment,” Shammari said.