Iraq receives billions in aid for road maintenance

TT

Published 20.36

 

Iraqi highway outside Mosul in Iraq. Archive photo. Photo: Bram Janssen/AP/TT

On Friday, the World Bank approved support equivalent to around 8.5 billion kronor to maintain the substandard road network in Iraq.

The country's infrastructure is in a state of disrepair after 40 years of armed conflict, dictatorship and corruption. Roads to neighboring countries Turkey, Syria and Jordan are barely passable.

The announcement of $900 million in funding from the World Bank means that two highway corridors – one from Baghdad to the Turkish border and one in an east-west direction – can become passable for real.

The funding means that "travel will become safer and more reliable, which increases opportunities for people and businesses," the World Bank writes.

Previously, similar support of around $930 million has been directed to Iraq's railway network.