THE General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) declared that its February earnings exceeded IRR65 billion (US$154 million) reports Bahrain's Iraqi News
THE General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) declared that its February earnings exceeded IRR65 billion (US$154 million) reports Bahrain's Iraqi News. GCPI director Farhan Al-Fartousi reported a notable surge in container and cargo handling activity, both inbound and outbound, across Iraqi ports.
Al-Fartousi elaborated that 73 ships arrived for imports throughout February, while 120 ships departed for exports from Iraqi ports.
Last year, the Iraqi Ministry of Transport outlined plans for port development, with the spotlight on the Al-Faw Grand Port, currently under development by a Korean firm, Daewoo E&C, as stated by Maritime Gateway News.
The initial phase of the Al-Faw Grand Port, featuring a container terminal, is set to commence operations.
This phase will incorporate five container shipping berths, each capable of accommodating vessels of up to 23,000 TEU.
Upon full completion by 2038, the Al-Faw Grand Port, housing 100 berths with a capacity of handling 7.5 million TEU annually, is projected to surpass Dubai's Jebel Ali as the Middle East's largest container port, according to Maritime Gateway News.
The first phase of the port, expected to be finalised by 2028, anticipates an annual container handling capacity of four million TEU.
This US$7 billion logistics endeavor is poised to rival Egypt's Suez Canal, establishing an overland connection to Turkey via rail and positioning the port city of Basra as a conduit to Europe.
SeaNews Turkey
