Türkiye advances construction of Development Road, Zangezur Corridor

Türkiye’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure continues to work on the construction of railways and roads planned as a part of the Development Road Project and the Zangezur Corridor.

Both routes offer alternatives to facilitate the passage of goods and people for the countries in the region and provide various cooperation opportunities.

Aimed at transporting loads from India, East Asia, and the Gulf to Iraq via the Grand Faw Port and connecting Europe through a railway and road link, the Development Road Project is progressing with investments of both the Turkish and Iraqi governments.

Expected to bring potential benefits to a vast geographical area extending from Europe to the Gulf region, the project will play a significant role in goods arriving at the port from major countries, including China and India, and further strengthen Türkiye’s position on the new Silk Road.

New highways and railways planned for the ‘Development Road Project’

As part of the Development Road Project, the Turkish and Iraqi governments are set to invest £18.89 billion ($23.8 billion) in addition to ongoing efforts. Türkiye will allocate these investments to railways and highways.

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure plans to introduce 615 kilometres of the new railway for the planned 2,088 kilometres of railway connection passing through the country.

Additionally, a 320-kilometre new highway is planned for the 1,912-kilometre road corridor. Of this, 1,592 kilometres are already in existence.

Offering an alternative to the heavily congested Suez Canal, the project will provide a direct travel route from the Gulf to Türkiye, linking it to Basra, Baghdad and Mosul in Iraq.

It will also ease the possible passage from Iraq to Türkiye, shortening the distance for the movement of goods and people.

New 224-kilometre railway line for Zangezur Corridor

Establishing a new connection between Türkiye and Central Asia, the corridor will directly link Baku Port to Türkiye.

The Ministry plans a new 224-kilometre railway line extending from Kars to Dilucu as part of the ongoing work to construct the planned route.

Zangezur region was originally part of Azerbaijan, though the Soviets gave it to Armenia in the 1920s, leaving Azerbaijan deprived of a direct overland route to its exclave of Nakhchivan.

The planned corridor will also connect Azerbaijan with its landlocked exclave of the Nakhchivan autonomous region. Geographically, Nakhchivan is cut off from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenian territory.

This will allow goods and people to travel back and forth between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan via Armenia’s Syunik province.