June 25 (UPI) -- The World Bank on Wednesday announced a $1.3 billion investment in projects in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.
The costliest of the three projects will happen in Iraq, as the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved $930 million in financing to help improve the country's railways.
"As Iraq shifts from reconstruction to development, enhanced trade and connectivity can stimulate growth, create jobs, and reduce oil dependency," said the World Bank's Middle East Division Director Jean-Christophe Carret of the Iraq Railways Extension and Modernization, or IREM, project, which is intended to improve railway services and infrastructure between the Umm Qasr Port in southern Iraq and Mosul in northern Iraq.
IREM is expected to fix and improve about 650 miles of existing railway, improve the performance of the Iraqi Republic Railways, or IRR, reduce travel time and also allow for an increase in freight volumes, which should give rail users more in the way of reliable transport services.
"The IREM project is vital for transforming Iraq into a regional transport hub and helping achieve the [Iraq Development Road's] goals of improved connectivity and economic diversification and growth," Carret added.
