Iraq: The inauguration of the Basra’s Faw Port

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi installed on Sunday the grand Faw port in the oil-rich southern province of Basra that helps in the country’s financial budget.

Kadhimi affirmed when he spoke at the ceremony in Basra that the grand Faw project is not only for Basra but for all of Iraq, adding: It is a strategic project that contributes to the development and reconstruction of all governorates of Iraq and makes the country an economic bridge linking the various countries of the region.

Kadhimi also indicated that the Faw port would offer great opportunities for Iraq and improve its geopolitical position in the region and the world and would make several job chances.

He also noted that a lot of sides wanted that the project to be fail, and the country faced various defies in this subject, however; it is currently officially launched after the finish of initial steps of planning and negotiation, adding: We funded the project from this year’s budget.

Execution operation obstacles

Indeed, the initial work about the project started in 2012, however; misconduct, political disputes, and other local and regional interests disallowed the execution process start.

In October last year, the former director of Daewoo in Iraq, Park Il-ho, was found dead in an apparent suicide at the company’s headquarters in Basra, and Kadhimi blamed groups that he did not name, of obliging the director to suicide after making pressure on him to force the government to liberate a number of arrested corrupt officials.

Kadhimi said: With action, not words, we are moving together towards a better future that Iraq and our great people deserve. He also encountered a group of young protesters who met near the gate of the Faw Port Project, affirming their right to protest, noting that it is protected by the state without damaging public and private properties.

Five contracts

The project comprises five contracts like the five container berths, the filling of the container storage and handling yard, the digging of the internal navigation channel, the digging and furnishing of the external navigation channel and the Khor al-Zubair canal tunnel, and also the highway linking the port of al-Faw and Um Qasr, according to a statement published by the media office of the Prime Minister.

Moreover, the Ministry of Transport contracted, in December, a $2.62 billion agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction to establish the first phase of a huge commodities port. Nevertheless, the deal faced strong opposition from Iran’s allies that wanted to sign the contract with Chinese companies.