ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq and Turkey have completed the “final draft” of an implementation agreement for the landmark Development Road project, which is set to be submitted to both governments for final approval ahead of its official signing, Iraq’s transport ministry said Friday.

“Iraq and Turkey have finalized the draft of the general agreement for implementing infrastructure projects and developing the transport sector,” read an Iraqi transportation ministry statement, saying the step “paves the way for completing government approvals, the official signing, and moving into the contractual implementation phase.”

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 draft was completed following “intensive negotiations” that lasted four days in Baghdad, according to the ministry. The talks covered the legal, technical and financial aspects of the project, as well as “determining implementation mechanisms, ensuring clarity of mutual obligations, rights, and the requirements of the targeted projects.”

The ministry said the talks brought together representatives from Iraq’s transport, oil, finance and foreign ministries, the Central Bank of Iraq and the country’s oil marketing company, alongside representatives from Turkish ministries and state-owned Ziraat Bank.

“After completing the draft's provisions, both sides agreed to submit it to senior government authorities in both countries to obtain final approvals and complete the formal procedures ahead of the official signing,” it said.

On September 2, Iraq’s Border Ports Authority announced steps to activate an Iraqi-Turkish agreement on the Development Road project, including plans to establish the Fishkhabur-Ovakoy border crossing and connect it to the project.

The move comes after an Iraq-Turkey bilateral meeting in Ankara focused on “moving to the implementation phase” of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed July 28 between the two countries.

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 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.