Iraq to invite investors for Faw Port

Iraq intends to invite foreign companies within the next few days to invest in the construction of the Grant Faw Port to offset the Arab country’s funding shortage, an Iraqi newspaper reported on Monday.

Almada Arabic language daily said Iraq’s Transport Minister Abdul Hussein Abtan revealed the plan during a visit to the Southern Umm Qasr port on Sunday, adding that the new investment opportunities would be announced during a conference at Baghdad Airport within the next few days.

“We will soon announce investment opportunities for foreign companies to execute projects in Faw Port, including the construction of new quays…we have taken this decision because of austerity measures and lack of liquidity, which has affected the execution of the Faw project,” the Minister said.

He said contractors would be invited to carry out such projects on a post-payment basis or joint operation and that the Faw Port would be fully commissioned within two years.

The Southern Faw Port, one of the world’s largest container terminals, will eventually have a capacity to handle 99 million tonnes annually. It involves a 39km container quay and two km of berths along with a container warehouse and hinterland covering more than one million square metres.