New Umm Qasr port studies conducted

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Engineering teams from the State Company for Iraqi Ports on Wednesday completed all studies concerning the construction of a new port in Basra ‘s Umm Qasr, a spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Transport said. “The new port will include four quays, four stores and an administration building,” Jawad al-Kharsan told IraqiNews.com. “The port will be located between the northern and southern ports, and will provide a new opportunity for investors in a manner that will increase operational energy efficiency in Iraqi ports,” Kharsan noted. A total 40,900 tons of cargo arrived yesterday at Umm Qasr port, Kharsan explained, adding that the port’s operational capacity is 30,000 tons per day. The Shiite province of Basra , 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad , has five commercial ports and two oil ports: al-Maaqal, established in 1916 by the British forces and handed over to Iraqi authorities in 1937; and Faw, a small port on the al-Faw Peninsula near the Shatt al-Arab waterway and the Persian Gulf . In the early 1970s, Umm al-Qasr port was built, and in 1974, Khour al-Zubeir and Abu Fallous ports were established on the Shatt al-Arab. Basra is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer . The city played an important role in early Islamic history. The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city’s oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd). Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname “The Venice of the Middle East ” at least at high tide. SS (S) 1