From 2017, Turkey began construction a barrier along the Turkey-Iran border aimed at preventing illegal crossings and smuggling.[22] The wall will cover 144 km[23][24] of the border. As of December 2017, half of the border barrier had been finished.[25] According to the responsible officials, the border barrier should have been completed by spring 2019.[26] The national housing commission TOKİ is building the wall in the provinces Iğdır and Ağrı.[23] Iran has welcomed the construction of the border barrier.[27]