Iraq and nearby Iran have kicked off a project to link their border areas with a passenger and freight rail network, an Iraqi official was quoted on Monday as saying.

Bulldozers are dredging areas near Shatt Al-Arab waterway while teams formed by the two Gulf neighbours will soon launch a joint mine-clearing operation, said Younus Al-Kaabi, Director of the Iraqi General Rail Company, a subsidiary of the Transport Ministry.

“This project is moving ahead…we already have a rail line that transports passengers between the two countries, but the project will expand such operations,” Kaabi told the official Iraqi Alsabah newspaper.

“After the completion of the project, we will see Iraqi trains going to Tehran and Iranian trains coming into Iraqi cities,” he added.

In previous comments, Kaabi said Iraq has already allocated 215 billion Iraqi dinars ($148 million) for the project.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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