Faw Grand Port: Iraq’s Gateway to the World Prepares for Takeoff Despite Challenges

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[size=52]Faw Grand Port: Iraq’s Gateway to the World Prepares for Takeoff Despite Challenges[/size]

[size=45]Iraq is preparing to announce the imminent launch of the Grand Faw Port, one of the largest strategic projects in the country, despite the major challenges that have faced this project since its inception.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Faw Port is an important commercial gateway linking Iraq to the outside world and reducing dependence on the ports of neighboring countries.[/size]
[size=45]The project has faced many obstacles, including financing, political tensions, and logistical challenges. However, official authorities confirm that the project has overcome most of these obstacles, and that the official launch of the port is imminent, which raises hopes of boosting trade and investment in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Jamal Al-Halbousi, an expert in maritime border demarcation, says, “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, which is equipped with five docks. Work is now underway to complete the fifth dock, which is 1,750 meters long.”[/size]
[size=45]He 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]“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,” he said, noting that “there are five other projects that complement the port and these must be carried out. According to the Ministry of Transport, the completion rate in them exceeds the timeframes set for them, but so far we need to test them. Within 20 days, water must be pumped into the submerged tunnel for testing.”[/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 confirms 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 added, "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]For his part, economic expert, Ziad Al-Hashemi, explains 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]He added, "The Faw Port, with its five berths, 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]Al-Hashemi 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]He explained that “there are 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 cross-border trade services to and from Turkey and neighboring countries, due to the fragile security and political stability, which may lead to 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]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]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]
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