PM Barzani stresses importance of 'strategic' railway project to Kurdistan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, on Thursday reiterated the importance of the "strategic" railway project signed between the autonomous Kurdish region and a leading German company.

Barzani received Vincent van Houten, the Executive Director of Deutsche Bahn's European and Middle Eastern operations, in Erbil along with German Consulate General Klemens Semtner.

Earlier in the day, the Kurdistan Region's Minister of Housing and Construction signed a memorandum of understanding with the German company to build the infrastructure for a railway project to connect the region's provinces and towns.

Read More: KRG signs railway project with Germany's Deutsche Bahn company

The agreement "is a primary step in building this important project, which consists of numerous stages and will be implemented by a number of companies," van Houten said in the meeting, according to a press release from Barzani's office.

The release read that Prime Minister Masrour Barzani reiterated the importance of the "strategic and crucial project" towards building a robust economic infrastructure for the Kurdistan Region.

The route would also enhance trade between the Kurdistan Region with other Iraqi provinces and neighboring countries, the statement noted.

As the first step, the ministry is looking to sign a contract with an international company for a feasibility study. The study would examine economic and legal aspects of the project as well as scheduling to determine the railway's success.

The Kurdish provinces of Iraq were connected to the country's south and center by rail until the 1980s, but a new railway system would be the first such project under the autonomous government.