Kuwaiti port will affect our waters – Maritime official

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Director of Iraqi Maritime Ports Salah Khudhair Aboud said today that the Iraqi problem with Kuwaiti Mobarak port is its position that will negatively affect Iraqi banks.   In a joint press conference with Minister of Transport Hadi Al-Amiri, he added that “the change of Kuwaiti port site into Kuwaiti territories will not affect Iraq”.   He added that “building this port will affect the environmental order for the living creatures in the north of the area”, pointing out “these facts are scientific, not political”.   “The movement of water and tides will increase the mud inside Iraqi territorial waters, which shall make Iraqi waters shallow”, he elaborated.   Last Wednesday, a group of MPs made a parliamentarian gathering called (17 May) to follow up the Kuwaiti ports question.   Member of the gathering, Alia Nisaif told IraqiNews.com that this  15-member gathering has no connection with other political blocs.   Iraqi Ministry of Transport laid down the corner stone for Greater Fao Terminal on 4 April last year.   The terminal will have two piers, the first with 39 km in length and the second in 2 km, in addition to an outer space that will reach to one million square meters and a container yard with 600 thousand square meters.   The total capacity of the terminal will reach 99 million tons per year, with a cost of 4.4 billion Euros.   It is expected that Iraqi ports will be connected with a railway network that will extend to Europe via Turkey. 634