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Iran to carry out infrastructure improvement projects in Iraq

Business Materials 23 February 2015 13:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 23

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi said that the Islamic Republic and Iraq have agreed on three major road projects to be carried out jointly in the Arab country, ISNA news agency reported Feb. 23.

In a meeting with Iraq's Minister of Reconstruction and Housing Tariq al-Khikani, Akhoundi stated that constructing a drawbridge, adding to the Hillah ring road, and road construction in Kerbala are the three projects agreed upon by the two countries.

He further noted that Iran and Iraq also intend to join their rail network at two points in the near future, one in Shalamcheh and the other at Khosravi borders.

The Shalamcheh railroad needs 40 kilometers extension on the Iranian side. The Khosravi railroad is complete on the Iranian side and needs further construction only on the Iraqi side.

He added that the railroad has to cross Arvand Rud (called Shatt al-Arab in Arabic). To do that, a drawbridge needs to be built as ferries travel along the river.

The Iranian official stated that if the project is funded, it would be complete in 18 months.

Akhoundi added that one of the aims of extending the two railroads is to accommodate millions of Iranian pilgrims who visit Iraq's holy cities every year.

In early January Akhoundi and Iraqi Minister of Transportation Baqir Jabr Al-Zubeidi signed a MoU, under which the two sides agreed to build a 37 km railway network between Shalamcheh and Basra, linking the two countries' railway networks and making it possible to raise the volume of commercial and economic transactions through transport of more cargoes and passengers.

Edited by CN

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