Al-Faw Grad Port's first phase to be completed by end of 2025
Expected to be the biggest seaport in the Middle East, Iraq's Al-Faw Grand Port stands out due to its open-sea setting, which spans 54 square kilometers, according to Al-Saadawi.
The first phase of the project consists of five piers, which have been completely finished; a 62-kilometer road that connects the Al-Faw Grand Port to Umm Qasr port city; a 2,400-meter-long submerged tunnel; a ship canal; and a container yard, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
As part of a field tour conducted last November to review the progress made in major projects of the southern Iraqi port, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, inaugurated the port's first five container berths.
Al-Sudani reviewed the port's major projects, including the container yard and the underwater tunnel, which is one of the important parts of Iraq's Development Road.
The underwater tunnel being built under the Khor Al-Zubair Channel forms part of the new highway being built to link the Al-Faw Grand Port to Umm Qasr Port and the existing transport network, including Iraq's Development Road.
The Al-Faw Grand Port is located on the Khor Abdallah Channel, near the mouth of Shatt Al-Arab.
According to Maritime Gateway News, the five container shipping berths, which have been constructed by Daewoo E&C, a company located in South Korea, can each hold ships up to 23,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
With 100 berths and the capacity to handle 7.5 million TEU annually, the Al-Faw Grand Port is expected to surpass Dubai's 67-berth Jebel Ali as the largest container port in the Middle East when finished in 2038.
Four million TEU of containers may be handled annually by the port's first phase, which is anticipated to be finished in 2028.
By connecting the port city of Basra to Turkey via an overland route, the $7 billion logistics project will compete with Egypt's Suez Canal and establish Basra as a gateway to Europe.
The lofty project, which aims to connect Asia and Europe through gas and oil pipelines, rail networks, and road networks, includes the 2.4-kilometer underwater tunnel as a key component.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Shafaq News
43 minutes ago
- Shafaq News
US sanctions 'Hezbollah financiers and Iranian oil smugglers'
Shafaq News – Washington The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced sweeping sanctions targeting what it called Hezbollah-linked financial operatives in Lebanon and Iranian oil smuggling networks spanning Iraq, the Gulf, and Asia. In a pair of statements, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned seven senior officials and one entity affiliated with Lebanon's Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH), a Hezbollah -controlled financial institution designated by the US since 2007. 'These officials sought to disguise Hizballah's (Hezbollah) interest in seemingly legitimate transactions, exposing Lebanese banks to serious financial crime risks,' said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. He added that the US remains committed to dismantling Hizballah's financial infrastructure as the group attempts to rebuild its operations. Among those sanctioned are AQAH executives Nehme Ahmad Jamil, Issa Hussein Kassir, Samer Hasan Fawaz, and others accused of facilitating multi-million dollar transactions that covertly served Hizballah's interests. OFAC also designated the Beirut-based company Tashilat SARL, co-owned by AQAH officials, for its role in supporting Hezbollah's financial ecosystem through post-conflict mortgage services and other business fronts. In addition, OFAC also unveiled sanctions against a sprawling oil smuggling network led by Iraqi-British businessman Salim Ahmed Said, accused of blending and selling Iranian oil as Iraqi crude using forged documentation and corrupt deals with Iraqi officials. According to the Treasury, Said's operations have generated billions of dollars in revenue for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), a US-designated terrorist organization. Said's companies—operating out of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates—allegedly manipulated shipping records, conducted ship-to-ship transfers in the Persian Gulf, and stored oil in disguised terminals in Khor al-Zubayr. One firm, VS Tankers FZE, reportedly used a fleet of vessels to blend sanctioned Iranian oil with legitimate Iraqi crude, allowing it to reach global markets. The Treasury also sanctioned several ships and shipping companies believed to be part of Iran's 'shadow fleet,' used to covertly transport oil in defiance of international sanctions.
Shafaq News
3 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Ethiopia completes Nile Dam, invites Egypt to inauguration
Shafaq News – Addis Ababa Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Thursday the completion of work on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a multi-billion-dollar hydropower project on the Nile River that has long fueled tensions with downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan. Speaking before Ethiopia's parliament, Abiy declared, 'The work is now completed, and we are preparing for the official inauguration.' He addressed Egypt and Sudan directly, saying, 'To our neighbors downstream, our message is clear: the Renaissance Dam is not a threat but a shared opportunity.' Abiy also extended a formal invitation to Egypt to attend the inauguration ceremony planned for September, once the rainy season concludes, presenting the dam as a platform for regional cooperation rather than confrontation. Located in the northwest of the country, around 30 kilometers from the Sudanese border, the $4.2 billion dam stretches 1.8 kilometers in length and stands 145 meters tall. Once fully operational, it will have the capacity to hold 74 billion cubic meters of water and generate over 5,000 megawatts of electricity. Before the Ethiopian announcement, Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reaffirmed Cairo's firm stance, stating the country 'will not allow, under any circumstances, any infringement on this existential matter or Egypt's historic share of Nile waters.' In remarks cited by Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm during a televised interview, Abdelatty stressed that Egypt reserves the right to defend itself and its water interests if they come under threat. He noted that Egypt's annual water needs exceed 90 billion cubic meters, while its share of Nile water amounts to just 55.5 billion cubic meters. Both Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly objected to Ethiopia's unilateral filling and operation of the dam, demanding a legally binding tripartite agreement on its management before further steps are taken.
Iraqi News
4 hours ago
- Iraqi News
Iraq exports over 1.6 million barrels of oil to Jordan
Baghdad ( – Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) revealed that the country's oil exports to Jordan during the first five months of 2025 surpassed 1.6 million barrels. Iraq's oil exports to Jordan in January, February, March, April, and May reached 1.64 million barrels, a 10.4 percent decline compared to the same period in 2024, when they totaled 1.84 million barrels. Oil exports to Jordan totaled 309,980 barrels in January, increased to 419,946 barrels in February, fell to 309,765 barrels in March, reached 299,819 barrels in April, and increased to 309,906 barrels in May. Jordan and Iraq agreed in August 2023 to boost imports from 10,000 to 15,000 barrels per day, or 300,000 to 450,000 barrels per month, representing approximately 10 percent of Jordan's crude oil consumption. Iraqi oil exports saw minor variations in the first quarter of 2025, as the country adhered to prior production limitations set by OPEC+, particularly with the increase in export quantities during the first two months of the year.
