KRG proceeds with railway project, private sector to play key role

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - On Thursday Dana Abdulkareem Hamasalih, KRG’s Minister of Construction and Housing told Kurdistan24, “The private sector will participate in the construction of the railway in the Kurdistan Region.”

A delegation from the Ministry of Construction and Housing of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is in Spain to start the design of the railway line that will connect the Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing with the Parvez Khan Border Crossing.

Regarding the purpose of their visit to Spain, Mr. Hamasalih said that, “it is to evaluate the designing and technical aspects of the Kurdistan Region’s Railway, which consists of the construction of the railway line, wagons and the vehicles pulling the wagons.

He explained that the project's first phase includes extending the railway from the Kurdistan Region's Ibrahim-Khalil border crossing with Turkey to the Parvez Khan crossing with Iran.

Read More: Railway project important for linking cities and promoting trade: PM Barzani

The mega project will start in Iraq's southern Al Faw port and expand to the Kurdistan Region's border with Turkey.

The project's first phase will be limited to cargo transport only, the Director and Board Member of the TenBroeke, Tavan Omer, told Kurdistan 24 on Monday.

According to Omer, the company has already prepared a feasibility study for the project and plans to include it as part of the memorandum.

In early February, Germany's Deutsche Bahn company signed an MoU with the KRG Ministry of Construction and Housing to build the railway.

In early March, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani discussed linking the Kurdistan Region to Iraqi provinces via rail during a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Transport Nasser Hussein al-Shibli.