ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The railway and highway systems of Iraq's landmark Development Road project are 87 and 73 percent complete respectively, according to the country's transport ministry.

"The cumulative design completion rate has reached 87 percent for the railway line and 73 percent for the highway," the ministry said, adding that the project's economic model has been finalized with an Oliver Wyman strategy, encompassing "governance, the railway and road infrastructure, economic development, investment opportunities, and international outreach to investors," having been adopted.

The Development Road is a massive, multi-billion-dollar project that entails the expansion of railways, roads, and ports, shortening travel time between Asia and Europe and linking the Grand Faw Port in southern Iraq to the Turkish border.

The route will pass through Diwaniyah, Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad, and Mosul before entering Turkey’s Sirnak Province and reaching Mersin on the Mediterranean Sea.

The project has generated around 100,000 jobs directly, according to the statement, with over 1.6 million other jobs having been created indirectly as a result of the expansive initiative.

The ministry explained that the Grand Faw Port, which consists of five parts and directly connects to the Development Road in the country's southern border, has made considerable progress, with three of its five sections completed, while the submerged tunnel is 80 percent completed and the port's container yard is 97 percent finished.

Nasser al-Asadi, the Iraqi prime minister's transport advisor, said in October that Iraq has completed a detailed plan to manage and finance the Development Road Project in cooperation with the US-based consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

The architectural plan for the Development Road is structured in three phases, with phase one projected to be completed by 2028, while the second and third phases are expected to finish in 2033 and 2050 respectively.

The initial investment for the project is estimated at nearly $20 billion, with projected annual profits reaching approximately five billion dollars.