Iraq to complete Al-Faw Grand Port by end of 2024
A breakwater and part of the construction work in the Al-Faw Grand Port in Basra, Iraq. Photo: Iraqi News Agency
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Ministry of Transportation confirmed last Friday that the Al-Faw Grand Port will be completed ahead of schedule, by the end of 2024, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Media director in the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) of the Ministry of Transportation, Anmar Abdel Moneim Al-Safi, explained that the work in the Al-Faw Grand Port is being completed faster than planned because of the accelerated pace of work to complete the project.
Al-Safi elaborated that according to the signed contract, the project should be completed by the end of 2025, but it will be completed faster than planned because of the expedited work pace, by the end of 2024, and this was confirmed by the Minister of Transportation during his recent visit to the port.
Al-Safi mentioned that the concrete wall of the berths has been completed, the work of 157 pillars has been prepared, and work in the container yard has begun, INA reported.
In late October, Director of the GCPI, Farhan Al-Fartousi, confirmed in a statement that the first layer of the 52-kilometer road that connects the Al-Faw Grand Port to the submerged tunnel has been completed.
“The 45-meter wide and one-meter high road has been completed and is now ready for vehicles to pass,” Al-Fartousi elaborated.
The official spokesperson of Ministry of Transport, Hussein Al-Rubaie, revealed last June that the tunnel being built under Khor Al-Zubair Channel forms part of the new highway being built to link the Al-Faw Grand Port to Umm Qasr Port and the existing transport network, according to Zawya News.
The Al-Faw Grand Port is located on the Khor Abdallah Channel, near the mouth of Shatt Al Arab.
The Al-Faw Grand Port is being developed by Daewoo E&C and the container terminal is a part of its first phase that goes into operation, according to Maritime Gateway News.
When fully completed in 2038, the Al-Faw Grand Port, with 100 berths that can handle 7.5 million TEU annually, and would overtake Dubai’s 67-berth Jebel Ali as the largest container port in the Middle East, Maritime Gateway News reported.