Iraq has announced plans to build an oil refinery in the northern autonomous region of Kurdistan besides a rail network that stretches all the way to the southern part of the country using a joint fund with China, said a report.

These projects are part of a massive construction plan to be executed by Chinese companies in line with their oil-for-project agreement signed between Iraq and China in Sept 2019, reported Iraqi news network Aliqtisad.

As per the agreement with China, many strategic projects will be undertaken in the country in the coming period and Kurdistan will have a share of these projects, it stated, citing a senior official.

These include an oil refinery, a rail linking Zakho city in the autonomous region with the southern port of Basra, an oil pipeline, schools and hospitals, it added.