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.
The Iraq Development Road project, which was greenlit in 2023, is a regional railway that connects the Gulf region through Iraq to Turkey and then extends into Europe. Once enacted, by 2037 IREM should allow the IRR to carry millions of people and tons of freight through eight of Iraq’s provinces and create nearly 22,000 jobs annually by 2040.
For Syria, the World Bank’s board has approved a $146 million grant to help restore reliable electricity and support the country’s economic recovery via the Syria Electricity Emergency Project, or SEEP.
SEEP is slated to pay for the rehabilitation of high voltage transmission lines that were damaged during years of conflict, as well as repair transformer substations in the areas that receive the highest number of refugees and displaced people while arranging for technical assistance and investment plans.
“Electricity is a foundational investment for economic progress, service delivery and livelihoods,” said Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh, who noted this project was the first for the World Bank in Syria in almost 40 years.
“We hope it will lay the ground for a comprehensive and structured support program to help Syria on its path to recovery and long-term development,” he added.
According to the World Bank, damage to Syria’s national grid currently limits electrical usage there to only between two and four hours daily.
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors also approved $250 million in financing to support reconstruction and repair to Lebanon’s infrastructure and emergency services.
Conflict in Lebanon over the past two years has damaged buildings and infrastructure that are necessary to effectively serve in several of the nation’s sectors, such as education, health care, energy, transportation and water. The World Bank’s funding will go to the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project, or LEAP, which is intended to address reconstruction and recovery as quickly as possible.
Director Carret says LEAP “offers a credible vehicle for development partners to align their support, alongside continued progress on the government’s reform agenda, and maximize collective impact in support of Lebanon’s recovery and long-term reconstruction.”
