News / Rail freight may be key to Iraq ambition to rival Jebel Ali and the Suez Canal

IRR is extending current rail lines to other terminals in Umm Qasr Port

Iraq’s ambitious plans for its future mega-port to offer an alternative to other Middle Eastern ports, and even the Suez Canal, would depend on overload transhipment to Turkey, which would be provided by state-owned Iraqi Republic Railways (IRR).

“We are working on a project to maximise the benefit of our geographical location and serve traders that want to take goods through Iraq to other countries via Turkey, once the Grand Port of al-Faw is completed,” IRR’s general director, Talib Jawad al-Husseini, ...