Iraq has completed construction of around sixty percent of an undersea tunnel connecting the country's southernmost coastal region to international trade links through Turkey. The tunnel is expected to stretch 2,400 meters all the way from Basra's large commercial port of Al-Faw and is part of a larger scheme to develop the port. Iraq hopes the submerged tunnel will create a shorter transportation corridor between the Middle East and Europe, increasing Iraqi trade revenues from the transport of goods. "The submerged tunnel will be considered part of a transit road, part of the economic channel feeding trade," Director General of Iraqi Ports Farhan al-Fartousi, said. This tunnel is considered the first of its kind in the Middle East.