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RAIL-
Italian engineering services company Italferr has finalized 53% of the designs for a mega rail project in Iraq, Zawya Projects reports, citing comments made by Iraqi Transport Minister Razzak Al-Saadawi. The project — set to cost some USD 17 bn — involves building a rail and a parallel motorway stretching 1.2k km from southern Iraq to the northern border with Turkey. Iraq is currently in talks with several countries who are looking to take part in the initiative including China, Europe, Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, and Iran.
TRADE-
Some 31 African countries are set to follow the rules of the continental freetrade pact in 2024, Bloomberg reports. These countries are out of 47 that have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and a spike up from the initial seven nations that made the commitment to the guided trade initiative in 2023, according to AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene. The guidelines will involve the use of a pan-African payment and settlement system using non-USD to address FX scarcities on the continent.
Big potential: AfCFTA could become the world’s largest freetrade zone by area once the treaty becomes operational in 2030, Bloomberg writes. Trade is expected to jump by 80% in the region to reach USD 532 bn by 2035, mostly on the back of improved technology, the news outlet adds, citing World Bank forecasts.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-
- Wizz Air flies to Turkestan: Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has launched three weekly flights from Abu Dhabi to Turkestan, Kazakhstan. (Statement)
