May 1 (Reuters) - Iraq has begun work on a planned 2.5 million barrel-per-day oil pipeline linking Basra and Haditha, the Iraqi News Agency reported on Friday, citing the oil ministry, as the country seeks to expand its export routes.

The ministry stated that approximately $1.5 billion has been allocated to this project, but the speed of completion depends on securing additional financial allocations.

A ministry spokesman said that crude oil will be exported via the 700-kilometer pipeline to three destinations: Banias in Syria, Ceyhan in Turkey, and Aqaba in Jordan, and will pass through all the refineries located along its route.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani led a meeting on Sunday to follow up on the project, which was approved in 2024. He said the project is a step that anticipates current regional conditions and protects against any potential disruptions to existing export routes.

Crude oil exports via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in March after Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq agreed to restart flows.

Baghdad is also working to renovate an abandoned pipeline that would allow oil to be pumped directly to the Turkish port of Ceyhan without passing through the Kurdistan region.

The US-Israeli war on Iran caused the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a rise in oil prices after exports were restricted from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq.