Construction to Begin for Major Iran-Iraq Railway Project

Date: 01 July 2019 - 21:05

News ID: ۶۷۵۹۷

TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Iran has announced that the construction of a major railway connecting the country to neighboring Iraq will begin in a few months time.
Officials said on Monday that Iran was waiting for the Iraqi side to assign the land needed for the implementation of the 32-kilometer railway connecting the city of Shalamcheh in southwestern Iran to Basra in southern Iraq.
Kheirollah Khademi, who heads the main infrastructure company in Iran’s transportation system, said giving the go-ahead for the construction of the $150-million railway project was only waiting for the Iraqi side to carry out its part of commitments.
"We are ready to start the execution phase in the next three months,” said Khademi, adding that The Mostazafan Foundation (MFJ), a semi-governmental charity with years of experience in construction activities, will be responsible for funding and execution of the entire project in Iran and Iraq.
The managing director of the state-owned Iraqi Republic Railways (IRR) company Talib Jawad Kazim highlighted the positive effects of U.S. sanctions against Iran and said the country has gained major achievements due to the economic pressures.
Jawad Kazim praised Iran’s achievements in railroad industry and said the sanctions have made Iran archive great successes.
The Iraqi official went on to say that the railroad is the backbone of a Memorandum of Understating (MoU) between the two nations.
The documents entail cooperation between Iran and Iraq concerning the Basra-Shalamcheh railroad project, visa facilitation for investors, cooperation in the health sector, and agreements between the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran and Ministry of Trade of Iraq, and another one in the field of oil between the petroleum ministries of the two countries.
The border city of Shalamcheh was linked to Iran’s national railway in 2011 with a 17-kilometer line from the city of Khoramshahr. Iran halted plans for linking Shalamcheh to Basra in 2014 when Iraq became involved in a war on Daesh, a terrorist group that is now almost obliterated from the Arab country.
An agreement for the construction of the Iran-Iraq railway was finalized during a trip to Iraq in March by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.