According to Kurdpress, the World Bank has approved a financial package of 900 million dollars for the development and reconstruction of roads in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. This project aims to improve road safety, strengthen transit corridors and facilitate the connection of Iraq to Türkiye, Syria and Jordan.

The World Bank announced that the board of directors of this institution has agreed to finance this project a day ago. According to this program, the two main road corridors of Iraq, including the north-south highway "Expressway 1" from Baghdad to the border of Turkey through the Kurdistan region, as well as the east-west corridor "Expressway 2" between Baghdad, Syria and Jordan will be developed and reconstructed.

The Ministry of Construction and Housing of the Kurdistan Region announced that a part of this project will include 50 km of road in Sulaymaniyah province and 22 km in Dohuk province. According to this ministry, Kurdistan Region's share of the financial package of the World Bank is 80 million dollars; The figure that was finalized in Washington after the meetings and negotiations of the Minister of Construction and Housing of the region.

The World Bank emphasized that these investments will help increase the resilience of Iraq's road network against climate change, improve road maintenance and improve traffic safety, and will provide the basis for attracting private sector investment in future transportation projects.

The organization also announced that the new project can directly benefit about 7.9 million residents of the areas around these roads and improve access to sectors such as tourism, agriculture, health services and manufacturing industries.

In its statement, the World Bank reminded that about 90% of transportation in Iraq is done by road, but a significant part of the country's road network is still in a medium or poor condition; An issue that has limited trade, access to services and economic opportunities.

Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have faced a crisis of fatal road accidents in recent years. Wear and tear of roads, illegal speed and disobeying driving rules are considered to be the most important factors of road casualties in this country.

The government of the Kurdistan Region has also announced that during the ninth cabinet headed by Masrour Barzani, more than 700 road projects have been implemented in different regions of the region.