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This picture shows boats docked at a sea pier at the Grand Faw Port after the completion of the five berths project, in Basra in southern Iraq, on November 6, 2024. The Grand Faw Port will be one of the largest ports in the Middle East with the longest breakwater in the world at 14,523 meters long. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP).
US-based KBR will help Iraq operate its largest port which is expected to be commissioned in late 2025.
Officials from the Iraqi Transport Ministry met representatives from the US company in Baghdad last week to discuss the planned operation of the Grand Faw Port, slated to be one of the world’s largest 20 container terminals.
“The talks at the Transport Ministry with KBR representatives covered mechanism to began the operation of the Faw Port after its infrastructure was completed,” said Farhan Al-Fartousi, Director of the General Company for Ports in Iraq.
“This meeting with the US company is a strategic step to coordinate efforts between the Iraqi government and international firms to ensure the success of the port’s operation,” Al-Fartousi told Iraq’s Shafaq news agency.
He said KBR would provide training to Iraqis in port operation and management besides other services needed to ensure efficient operations.
Iraqi officials said last week Phase 1 of Faw Port in South Iraq would be commissioned before the end of 2025 and Phase 2 would be completed in 2029.
Phase 1 of the project cost around $5 billion, including nearly $2.6 billion for its five main piers which were constructed by South Korea’s Daewoo Company.
Iraqi Transport Ministry officials said in 2024 they have pre-qualified Abu Dhabi Ports Group (AD Ports) for a contract to operate Faw Port against competition from other port operators from China and Singapore.
Faw Port is slated to be one of the world’s largest 20 container terminals with a capacity to handle nearly 99 million tonnes per year.
The port will be linked to a $17-billion rail line and motorway stretching nearly 1,200 km to the Northern border with Turkey through which it will be connected to Europe.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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