The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has raised concerns over Iraq’s $17 billion Development Road project, saying its current route does not properly include Kurdish-populated areas and could prevent the Kurdistan Region from benefiting from one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects.
Agrin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing in the Kurdistan Regional Government, said the proposed railway and expressway routes mainly pass through Shiite- and Sunni-Arab areas while leaving Kurdish-populated territories outside the main transport corridor.
Speaking to Kurdistan24, Abdullah said the current project design does not serve the interests of the Kurdistan Region. She argued that the region should have a greater role in the project because of its geographical importance and connection to Türkiye.
Abdullah said the KRG had officially informed Iraq’s Council of Ministers about its concerns. The regional Ministry of Construction and Housing proposed changing the railway route so that it passes through Kirkuk and Erbil before continuing toward the Turkish border.
However, Baghdad has not accepted the proposal so far. According to Abdullah, the federal government currently wants to connect the project to the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing through only a short section near Zakho.
She said allowing only a few kilometers of the project to pass through the Kurdistan Region would not provide enough economic benefits or properly include Kurdish areas in the national development plan.
The deputy minister also said her ministry had not received any official written communication about the Development Road project or arrangements for the ceremony marking the start of construction. This has added to concerns within the Kurdistan Regional Government about the lack of coordination between Baghdad and Erbil.
The disagreement comes after a meeting between KRG and federal government officials. On October 22, KRG Minister of Transport and Communications Ano Jawhar traveled to Baghdad to discuss the project with Iraq’s Minister of Construction, Housing and Municipalities, Rebaz Hamlan.
Jawhar said he visited Baghdad under the direction of KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to present the Kurdistan Region’s position and seek support for including Kurdish areas in the project. Further discussions with Iraq’s Ministry of Transport were also expected.
Iraq’s Development Road is a major infrastructure project designed to connect the Grand Faw Port in Basra to the Turkish border through approximately 1,200 kilometers of railway and highway networks.
The project is estimated to cost around $17 billion and aims to turn Iraq into an important regional trade and transportation hub. It is expected to make it easier to transport goods between Asia and Europe while reducing travel time and costs compared with existing routes through the Suez Canal.
The project is also expected to support industrial development, logistics services, trade and investment along its route.
For the Kurdistan Region, the northern section is particularly important because the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing in Duhok provides a major connection between Iraq and Türkiye.
KRG officials believe that including Kirkuk and Erbil in the railway route would bring more investment, create employment opportunities and allow Kurdish areas to benefit from increased trade and transportation activity.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has said he plans to invite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to attend the ceremony marking the project’s foundation stone.
The prime minister has also described the Development Road as an important project for transportation and energy. According to his projections, the corridor could support the transportation of up to 2.5 million barrels of oil per day and generate between $65 billion and $70 billion in annual economic revenue from the oil sector. These figures are government projections rather than current project revenues.
For now, the main disagreement between Baghdad and Erbil remains unresolved. The KRG wants the railway to pass through Kirkuk and Erbil, while the federal government has not agreed to change the proposed route.
The issue is becoming increasingly important as Iraq prepares to move forward with the Development Road project. Whether Kurdish areas will receive a larger role in the final design remains unclear.