Faw Port is approaching launch... but what are the challenges?

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[size=52]Faw Port is approaching launch... but what are the challenges?[/size]

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2024-09-05
Baghdad
Finally, after more than 14 years since laying the foundation stone, the Grand Faw Port is approaching the opening of its berths to ships and steamers next year, starting with five berths with the hope of increasing them if the work is successful.[/size]
[size=45]While the Ministry of Transport confirmed that the achievement has reached advanced stages, specialists in economics and maritime border demarcation spoke about the most prominent challenges facing the launch of one of the most important projects in Iraq’s modern history, stressing that the most prominent obstacles lie in corruption, mismanagement, and potential security challenges due to “parties” who want to exploit it to gain profits.[/size]
[size=45]Maritime border demarcation expert Jamal Al-Halbousi said during an interview, “The news coming from the port of Al-Faw is good and joyful, especially since the work rate on the project now reaches 98 percent according to the Daewoo company implementing the port equipped with five docks, as work is now underway to complete the fifth dock with a length of 1,750 meters.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi added, “More important than these docks is the navigation channel leading to them, as work is being done on it at the agreed capacity so that it can accommodate large ships and navigation is at a very high economic level, meaning that the depth of the navigation channel should not be less than 19.8 meters, and so far it has reached 12 meters or a little more.”[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry of Transport confirmed this week that the five-berth project, one of the projects of the Grand Faw Port, is witnessing remarkable progress on the ground and faster than its scheduled timelines, noting that the Korean company Daewoo has reached a completion rate of 98 percent in the project.[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the project to establish the container terminal for the Grand Faw Port, which is one of the five projects of the project, includes the construction of five giant docks for unloading ships with a length of 1,750 meters, and the construction of a container yard with a length of 2,000 meters.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi points out that “many aspects have been completed, such as the roads, most of which have been completed, as well as the bridges, the submerged tunnel, and the container yard,” noting that “there are five other projects that complement the port and these must be carried out, and according to the Ministry of Transport, the percentage of completion in them exceeds the timeframes set for them, but so far we need to test them, as within 20 days water must be pumped into the submerged tunnel for the test.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi hopes for “the success of the Faw Port project, because that would close all doors to competing ports in the region. Therefore, the five docks must be coordinated and interconnected, and the work must be in one chain. There must be a gradual completion, and there must be an appropriate mechanism for the work and the idea of ​​transporting and transferring goods.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the obstacles, he believes that “corruption is the biggest obstacle facing the port of Faw, so there must be efficient management, and unfortunately Iraq lacks it so far. If the same administrative work in other Basra ports, such as Khor Al-Zubair and others, is reflected in the port of Faw, it will be a disaster for the new port. However, if it is managed by expert companies, the port is a historic opportunity for Iraq to revive the economy.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “the port will start operating with five docks, and its success in operation will give Iraq an opportunity to develop and increase the docks because Umm Qasr Port operates with 29 docks, and what is planned for the Grand Faw Port is to contain a greater number of docks than what is present in Umm Qasr Port.”[/size]
[size=45]The Faw Port was supposed to have 99 berths and be the largest port in West Asia, surpassing the Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates. The port adds strategic importance to Iraq and generates huge financial returns through the transport of goods and oil products faster than before.[/size]
[size=45]Fourteen years have passed since the foundation stone was laid for the construction of this port, but political conflicts and the intersection of internal and external interests, in addition to corruption factors, prevented its completion, which prompted the “Popular Movement for the Belt and Road” last April to demonstrate in the vicinity of the Green Zone, to expose the files of financial and administrative corruption in the Grand Faw Port.[/size]
[size=45]The Greater Faw Project represents an important economic and political goal, given its high financial cost and political and social importance, as many political actors and armed groups seek to control or undermine it to achieve personal gains and political goals.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, economic expert, Ziad Al-Hashemi, stated during an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that “the port of Faw holds great strategic importance for the growing Iraqi economy, in which the rate of imports increases annually.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hashemi added, “The Faw Port, with its five docks, will be able to provide modern services and operations that facilitate the speed and smoothness of handling containers entering and leaving the port, which will enhance commercial movement and the availability of goods required within the Iraqi markets.”[/size]
[size=45]However, he confirms that “the project may face some challenges related to the contracting process with port operating companies, managing the docks, and the movement and operations of the port, in addition to the fact that the failure to complete the development road paths may cause a limitation in linking the port facilities with the land paths towards the Iraqi governorates, which creates a bottleneck that causes delays in the flow of goods.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hashemi also spoke about “the potential security and political challenges for parties that may want to exploit the port to obtain illegal financial gains and resources. The port may also face a decrease in demand for its services for cross-border trade to and from Turkey and neighboring countries, due to the fragile security and political stability, which may cause an increase in the costs of transit and insurance for containers passing through Iraq to and from the port for the benefit of other countries.”[/size]
[size=45]It is worth noting that the sea time for ships loaded with goods from the Chinese port of Shanghai to the Dutch port of Rotterdam takes about 33 days, while it will take only 15 days when the goods move from Shanghai to the Pakistani port of Gwadar and then to the Grand Faw port, and from there via the Iraqi dry canal to the Mediterranean ports in Turkey, and from there to the Dutch port of Rotterdam, which means reducing the travel time by more than 50 percent.[/size]
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