“The Road of Development” at the turn of Baghdad and Damascus

Amid the increasing regional competition for transport and trade projects, the development road project is highlighted as part of the strategic initiatives that seek to enhance the connection between the Gulf and Europe, where Iraq and Turkey are betting on this project to be a vital commercial passage that contributes to accelerating the flow of goods and reducing the costs of shipping, from Basra ports on the Arabian Gulf in southern Iraq to the Turkish territory in a wild road that extends to hundreds Complet.

However, the project faces great challenges, including competition with alternative paths that may be more stable or have a more sophisticated infrastructure, such as the corridor that connects Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Syria, which can pose a threat to the attractiveness of the Iraqi path.

In light of the geopolitical variables in the region, new proposals have emerged to introduce Syria within the path of the development road project, which may affect the position of Iraq as a major axis of this road. Political transformations in Syria, along with the potential Gulf investments for its reconstruction, may strengthen its role as an alternative commercial passage.

Last year, Iraq and Turkey signed the development road project agreement, which includes railway lines and fast roads linking the Grand Port on the Persian Gulf in Basra, with the Iraqi -Turkish border, with a length of 1,200 km, and at a financial cost of $ 17 billion and is expected to generate about 4 billion dollars annually within its first stage, except for the operation of tens of thousands of workforce.

The idea of ​​the development road project is focused, on the shortcut of the distance between Asia and Europe through Turkish territory, and the transport network from the Paw Port begins in the Iraqi city of Basra (south) through the provinces of Karbala and Baghdad, all the way to Nineveh Governorate (north), then to Turkish territory to the Port of Mersin, as it branches inside Turkey towards the neighboring European countries through land transport.

Research linking Syria to the project

In a previous statement through the media, the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdul Qadir Uraloglu, confirmed that his country is looking into the possibility of linking Syria to the project, pointing to the benefits that the project may gain from reducing the time of shipping and strengthening the position of Türkiye as a global commercial center.
On the other hand, the Iraqi Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhaibis, considered that the Turkish role is essential as the role of Iraq, and there is a memorandum of understanding that occurred between the two sides because they are the two countries that accompanied the privilege, Iraq is the owner of the land and it is a privilege for it, and Turkey, the owner of the gate to enter Europe, is a privilege for it, and therefore they will have a basic role.
Muhaibis stressed, in a press statement, that the challenges exist, but do not reach the extent of stopping the project, because they are subject to solutions, foremost of which is the financial challenge, while the remaining challenges are all simple and related to internal matters, explaining that the project is not exposed to an international opposition but rather the attention of all countries.

The possibility of turning the road

The head of the Iraqi Economy Alliance, Uday Al -Alawi, said that the Iraqi project faces challenges, most notably the attractiveness of the alternative road (Saudi Arabia – Jordan – Syria), supported by advanced infrastructure, as Saudi Arabia has modern ports and a railway network.
Al -Alawi indicated to Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed that the Al -Hijaz Al -Saki line in Jordan, which can be easily linked with Syria, as well as stability in Saudi Arabia and Jordan reduces the risk of insurance on goods compared to Iraq.
He added that Saudi Arabia may push to enhance its path as a strategic alternative to the corridors controlled by Iran or Türkiye, which may weaken the Iraqi project, especially with its continued internal challenges such as the lack of political instability and militia attacks.
He explained that the Iraqi track is short of about 500-700 km compared to the road through Jordan and then Syria, which reduces the costs of shipping and time, and that the Iraqi port may be more attractive to large ships thanks to its strategic location.
Al -Alawi affirmed that Ankara pays great attention to the project, as it is related to memoranda of understanding with Baghdad, and that Iraq began implementing the project before the stability of Syria, which may make it a realistic choice despite competition.
He considered that the decline in the importance of the Iraqi project is not an inevitable matter, but rather depends on the speed of its implementation, while the alternative road needs huge investments amounting to 50 billion dollars to rebuild the Syrian infrastructure, in addition to complicated political agreements between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the new Syrian authority.

Syrian roads are prepared

The Syrian economic researcher, Naeem Al -Luman, said that Qatar and the UAE, although they are part of the project, are still dealing with it with caution, and therefore because of the inability of the Iraqi government to secure the financing of the project in its territory, as well as the fragility of the situation in several areas of security and even politically, in addition to fear of the Iranian influence to obstruct the project by using its influence in Iraq.
He told Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed that Ankara seeks to include Damascus for the development way to reduce risks within Iraqi territory, and thus will reduce the cost and time from it, and will also be challenges whether it will pass from the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
He explained that with regard to the decline in the importance of the development project for Iraq if the line based on Saudi ports is activated, up to Jordan and then to Syria and from there to Turkey, this fear is normal, because its activation will inevitably affect the rest of the plans, and then remains the competitive advantage of Iraq in the railway to be established.
Al -Luman emphasized that Syria is prepared with two trading lines, the first is the M4 line that connects Iraq to Aleppo, as well as the M5 line that connects Jordan to Aleppo and Idlib, which are located on the Syrian -Turkish border.

The Iraqi cuff is likely

For his part, economic researcher Ahmed Abdullah told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the transport of goods through Iraq takes about 5-7 days, while through Syrian territory it may take 6-8 days, which makes the two options close time.

He pointed out that security stability and the ability to secure roads play a crucial role in preferring one of the two tracks over the other, as some areas in Iraq are still suffering from security challenges, while the infrastructure in Syria needs huge investments to be real competition.
He added that there is a proposal to place a second path through Syria that passes from Vishkabur in the north, which allows the benefit of the Mediterranean ports, as the road starts from Al -Faw Port through Baghdad to Deir Al -Zour and Aleppo, then enters Turkish lands through Gaziantep and Hatay, to be linked to Turkish ports on the Mediterranean, which opens an additional field for the trade movement between the Gulf and Europe.
He explained that this path may be more attractive in the event that the investments needed to rehabilitate it are provided, but it faces political challenges related to the situation in Syria and its relations with the actors in the region.
And Abdullah indicated that the customs duties imposed in Iraq are less than the proportions imposed by neighboring countries, including Syria, as Iraq adopts fees ranging between 5-10% on commodities, while Syria may impose fees of up to 10-15%, which may affect the transportation costs.
Abdullah concluded that Iraq possesses another advantage related to the flexibility of customs procedures relatively compared to Syria, which may suffer from bureaucratic complications in the clearance of goods, which may constitute an additional factor in determining the most efficient path of shipping goods between the Gulf and Europe.