Iraq’s Construction & Housing Minister Mohammed Al Derajy told the MEED Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) this morning that Iraq is negotiating with Cowi of Denmark for the contract to design the 900-kilometre highway number two which will link Basra with the Syrian and Turkish borders.

“We will hopefully award the design contract in the next few weeks,” said Muhammed al-Darraj Iraq’s Construction and Housing Minister at MEED’s Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) in Abu Dhabi.

The Danish engineering consultancy firm is in discussions with the ministry to design the road project, officially known as Expressway 2. The expressway will form part of a new “Silk Road”, which will link Europe and the Far East through Iraq, said Al-Darraj.

The road forms parts of Iraq’s plans to spend $5.8bn over the next three years to build new roads and bridges throughout the country.

Al Derajy told delegates that Iraq will soon award a road asset consultancy that will involve measuring and evaluating the state of Iraq’s entire road system.

He said four companies are in the running for the job.