The government of Iraq has announced that designs for the $2.5bn Baghdad Metro have been completed, agency Iraqi News reports.

According to Nasser Al Asadi, the prime minister’s adviser on transport affairs, the system will eventually cover 148km. Its 64 stations will bring mass transit to 85% of the city’s 8 million inhabitants, and will link up all of its holy sites, colleges and tourism districts.

Haider Makiya, the chair of the National Investment Commission (NIC), said in early February that his organisation had begun accepting bids for the much-delayed project. So far, 26 bidders have emerged, based in China, India, Germany, Italy, Spain and Qatar.

The scheme is being procured on a public-private partnership basis, with the winning teams financing, designing and building their part of the project, then operating them on a concessionaire basis until they are transferred to public ownership.

One company that has been prominent in the bidding process so far is China Railways. A representative from the company met Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani to discuss the scheme and present the company’s credentials.

The company is already implementing the Nisour Square development project in central Baghdad as part of the government’s project to relieve traffic congestion in the Iraqi capital.