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Iraq and neighbouring Iran have signed an agreement to build a rail line linking the two countries to boost trade and investment, Iraqi press reports said on Monday.
The heads of the state rail companies in the two Gulf states signed the agreement in the Southern Iraqi port of Basra on Sunday, Shafaq News and other publications reported.
The project includes the construction of rail tracks, train stations and a mobile bridge over Shatt Al-Arab waterway, it said, adding that the rail path has been designated.
Officials said in April Iraq and Iran would soon launch a joint operation to clear mines left from their eight-year-old war in the 1980s to pave the way for the project.
The rail will link the Southern Iraqi Basra city with Iran through the border Shalamija outlet near Shatt Al-Arab.
In 2020, Baghdad said that the Iraqi part of the rail project could cost nearly $150 million.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
