Baghdad, March 02 (QNA) – Iraq signed with the World Bank on the agreement of Developmental dry canal project loan and finance the construction of domestic and international road network of value of 355 million dollars in the presence of the Acting Minister of Finance, Safa al-Safi and the Minister of Construction and Housing, Mohammad al-Darraji and World Bank representative, Fred bin Haj and parliamentarians from the services and reconstruction Commission, National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) reported.
Safi said during a press conference held at the Ministry Building on the sidelines of the signing ceremony , that " the project will finance the dry canal and inland waterways and international linking Iraq to the Middle East."
He pointed out that "the project is part of a series of strategic projects that links Iraq with other countries and it is an international ambition to facilitate international trade ."
He considered the signing with the World Bank as "a step more important for the dry canal project ," noting that "the World Bank is counting on Iraq for its strategic importance and believes that the country will have a significant role in the international trade for starting an important stage for the development of international trade, and the project is a beginning and an introduction to project to finance the construction of the port of Faw . "
He said that the project includes connecting roads between Baghdad, Hilla , Nasiriyah, Rumaila , Safwan , Basra , Dohuk and Abraham al-Khalil port.
He added that 83% of the amount of the loan would be for the central government to complete the road projects in central and southern Iraq, and 17 % for the Kurdistan Regional Government to complete the Northern projects.
For his part, the representative of the World Bank confirmed that the loan does not require collateral for the fact that Iraq is one of the founders of the World Bank , noting that the project improves relations between Iraq and the World Bank .
The Minister of Construction and Housing said that the project will also include re-establish corridors roads from Baghdad to Hit and Trebil , and Baghdad- Samarra , as there will be a network of external ways with Kuwait , Umm Qasr and ways towards Turkey , and road between Jordan, Anbar and Baghdad .
He added that this network will contribute to facilitating trade and transit goods and commodities to Iraq. (QNA)
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QNA 1106 GMT 2014/03/02
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