Latest news with #FarhanAl-Fartousi
Shafaq News
17-07-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq's port revenues top $480M in H1 2025
Shafaq News – Basra Iraq's General Company for Ports reported a significant rise in revenues for the first half of 2025, surpassing 630B IQD (about $480M)—a marked increase compared to the same period last year. Company Director Farhan Al-Fartousi told Shafaq News that this represents the highest half-year revenue on record, up from just over 486B IQD (about $370M) during the same period in 2024, attributing the growth to successful operational and administrative strategies. Leading the ports in revenue generation was Umm Qasr North, with 288.3B IQD (about $220M), followed by Khor Al-Zubair Port with 125.8B IQD (about $96M), and Umm Qasr South with 56.4B IQD (about $43M). Abu Flous Port registered 3.2B IQD (about $2.5M), while Al-Maqal Port recorded a modest 11M IQD (about $8K). The Basra Oil Terminal also contributed significantly, generating 138.4B IQD (about $105M) in revenue, while administrative and service activities at the company's headquarters accounted for 18.4B IQD (about $14M).
Shafaq News
09-07-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq moves to tighten maritime control over Khor Abdullah
Shafaq News – Basra Iraq is stepping up joint efforts to secure the Khor Abdullah channel and its territorial waters, with officials calling the move essential to safeguarding the country's maritime authority and ensuring safe commercial passage. The decision follows a high-level coordination meeting held Wednesday at the headquarters of the General Company for Ports of Iraq in Basra, between the company's director general, Farhan Al-Fartousi, and other senior officials. 'This is no longer a routine task,' Al-Fartousi told Shafaq News. 'Protecting navigation in Khor Abdullah and our territorial waters is a national obligation tied directly to Iraq's maritime sovereignty.' Participants agreed on a unified course of action that includes regular naval patrols, advanced monitoring systems, rapid response protocols, clear operational responsibilities, and upgraded maritime surveillance infrastructure. The meeting ended with a joint commitment to activate naval command and control centers and maintain continuous coordination to defend Iraq's maritime borders and strategic interests in the Gulf. The status of Khor Abdullah, Iraq's critical maritime outlet, is under renewed focus following a September 2023 Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruling that annulled a 2013 navigation agreement. Citing constitutional flaws in its ratification, this decision has reignited discussions surrounding the waterway's legal framework. Iraqi leadership, after initial appeals, now aims for parliamentary re-legislation to address the court's concerns and clarify navigation rights.
Iraqi News
08-07-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq makes significant progress in Al-Faw Grand Port
Baghdad ( – The Iraqi Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday that significant progress is being made on the Al-Faw Grand Port project, with construction moving at a quick rate. The director of the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), Farhan Al-Fartousi, said in a statement that following the removal of vast amounts of soil, the navigation channel's completion rate has reached around 92 percent, the container yard is now 94 percent complete, and the connecting road is completely finished, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Al-Fartousi said in May that the installation of the third concrete section of the submerged tunnel has been completed, which was one of the project's most sensitive engineering stages, demanding extreme accuracy and excellent technical coordination. The submerged tunnel is made up of ten parts that total 2,444 meters in length, 1,226 meters of which are underwater. Al-Fartousi told INA that 11 foreign firms were asked to bid on a contract to meet the port's operational and commercial demands, as backed by a full feasibility assessment covering volume and return expectations. In March, officials from the GCPI and representatives from KBR, a US-based company that specializes in science, technology, and engineering, engaged in discussions regarding the operational procedures for the Al-Faw Grand Port. KBR said last year that it has been granted a five-year contract to assist the Iraqi government's strategic infrastructure and energy aspirations, which include megaproject delivery and sustainable growth. A $46 million contract requires KBR to provide its consulting services to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, with an emphasis on developing an efficient program to support the successful execution of important megaprojects. 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.
Iraq Business
07-07-2025
- Business
- Iraq Business
Iraq Eyes Global Operator for Next Phase of Al-Faw Grand Port
By John Lee. The General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) has announced the near-completion of the infrastructure phase of the Grand Al-Faw Port, with plans to soon select a global operator to develop and manage the superstructure. Director General Farhan Al-Fartousi told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that 11 major international companies have been invited to bid, with the contract to be awarded to the operator that best aligns with the port's technical and commercial requirements. He also confirmed that several key components of the project, including the main connecting road and five berths, have already reached 100% completion. In parallel, the GCPI is implementing an advanced maritime navigation and monitoring system in coordination with the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Al-Fartousi noted that the IMO's technical consultant recently held meetings in Iraq with the Italian firm overseeing specifications for the port's navigation channel. A follow-up visit by IMO's maritime advisor in London is planned for November. As part of these improvements, GCPI will deploy a new system of buoys and sensors - with lighting akin to airport runways - to enhance visibility for vessels navigating through fog and high humidity. The spacing between buoys will be reduced to 1.5-2 nautical miles (compared to 3 nautical miles in the Khor Abdullah channel) to accommodate large vessels and deep-water operations. Two offshore platforms will also be installed near the breakwater to monitor wind speed, wave height, and tidal conditions, improving safety for incoming and outgoing ships. The port has been designed with future growth in mind, including vessel drafts of up to 16.4 metres, and reserves deeper strategic capacity for even larger vessels and expanded trade volumes in the future. (Source: INA)
Iraqi News
06-07-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq to choose foreign firm to finish Al-Faw Grand Port's superstructure
Baghdad ( – The director of the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), Farhan Al-Fartousi, revealed on Thursday that the infrastructure phase of the Al-Faw Grand Port will be completed soon and that an internationally recognized operator is being chosen to complete the superstructure. Al-Fartousi told the state-run news agency (INA) that 11 foreign firms were asked to bid on a contract and that it would be awarded to the operator who best fits the port's operational and commercial demands, as backed by a full feasibility assessment covering volume and return expectations. The Iraqi Minister of Transport, Razzaq Al-Saadawi, revealed in March that the first phase of the Al-Faw Grand Port will be completed by the end of 2025. 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, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA). 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 potential to accommodate 7.5 million TEU per year, the Al-Faw Grand Port is projected to overtake Dubai's 67-berth Jebel Ali as the Middle East's largest container port when completed in 2038. The port's first phase, which is expected to be completed in 2028, has the potential to accommodate four million TEU of cargo per year. The $7 billion logistics project, which connects Basra to Turkey by land, will compete with Egypt's Suez Canal and establish Basra as a gateway to Europe.
