Baghdad examines plan to build tram line

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Baghdad Municipality is studying a plan to build a tram line between the residential city of Bismayah and Al-Bab Al-Sharqi.

The spokesperson for the Baghdad Municipality, Mohammed Al-Rubaie, said that the project will be made available on an investment basis and intends to reduce traffic congestion and complement other measures like unlocking previously blocked streets and widening existing roadways, according to Alsabah Daily, the official newspaper in Iraq.

Beside the tram line, Baghdad completed the designs for the Baghdad Metro project, which will play an important role in reducing the capital’s enduring traffic congestion.

With 64 stations spread across 148 kilometers, the Baghdad Metro project will cover 85 percent of the capital city, including all holy sites, hospitals, colleges, and tourism districts, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s advisor on transport affairs, Nasser Al-Asadi, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

In a ceremony held to launch the investment opportunities of the $2.5 billion Baghdad Metro project, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said that the project represents an important shift in the transportation sector in Baghdad, where the population exceeds eight million.