Turkey: Railroad to Connect Mediterranean and Black Seas with Persian Gulf

Turkey is not giving up and is moving towards the practical implementation of the Cotton Route, an intercontinental route that will connect India and some Asian countries with the Middle East and Europe. The Connot Road is considered an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the New Silk Road.

An integral and fundamental part of the entire project will be a railroad that should connect Iraq’s port of Al Faw at Basra in the Persian Gulf to Turkey. Recent disturbing news has given a boost to international negotiations on the Turkish project: the Greek-owned supertanker Suezmax, carrying Iraqi oil from the Iraqi port of Basra, was attacked and severely damaged by Yemeni Houthis.

About 10% of the world’s oil reserves are located underground in Iraq. The Iraqi government believes that once completed, the project will significantly reduce the cost of trade between China and Europe. At the same time, Turkey’s project will inevitably clash with China’s New Silk Road initiative, strongly supported and promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Turkey’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu says a summit will be held in Istanbul on Thursday, August 29, bringing together representatives from Iraq, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to discuss a multi-billion-dollar project designed to connect an intercontinental railroad from Iraq’s Basra port in the Persian Gulf to Turkish ports on the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

According to Uraloglu, some “significant decisions” can be expected from this first summit. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which stand to benefit from the new rail link of about 1300 kilometers, are also two potential investors in the project, which is estimated to cost at least $20 billion.

The infrastructure project is of great interest to the Baghdad government because it promises to turn Iraq into a strategic transit hub, reducing the time and cost of transportation between Asia and Europe. The railroad will compete with the Suez Canal in Egypt. During initial discussions, which took place during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit to Baghdad in April, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that “the project involves the construction of a railroad with a capacity of 3.5 million tons in the first phase and 7.5 million tons in the second phase of the project.”

In parallel with the construction of the super railroad, a highway and some energy infrastructure such as gas and oil pipelines are planned. UAE-based Abu Dhabi Ports Group is currently working with the Iraqi General Ports Company to develop the Al Fao port in Basra and its special economic zone.