Iraq Eyes Finance for Multi-Billion Dollar Port

In a bid to seek financial support, Iraq has announced that it is making shares available to the public for its Grand Faw container port, a planned project said to worth US$1.3 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Sabah Al-Bazooni, Head of the Basra Provincial Council, said that in the next few days, the Basra government will seek permission from the central government to set up a holding company for the shares.

Grand Faw container port was initially planned as a $17 billion port, but a steep drop in crude oil prices has prompted the government to seek out financial aid.

Terminal operator Gulftainer has recently reached a one million TEU milestone at Iraq’s only deep-water port Umm Qasr.

Gulftainer has since won the Port Operator Award at the Lloyd’s List Middle East and Indian Subcontinent Awards 2015, having been recognised for maintaining the highest standards of operational efficiency.

Read a Technical Paper on Gulftainers operations at Khorfakkan