The head of the Arab Gulf Studies Center in Basra University said on Monday that the center will hold a seminar to discuss the economic feasibility of the planned Faw port to be built in the Ras al-Bayshah area of Basra province.

The center’s director, Jassim Ghali Roumi, told AKnews that the seminar commissioned by Iraq’s parliament to discuss the economic, social and geographical feasibility of the port that will be the country’s biggest, will be held on Tuesday on the Basra University campus.

“The seminar will make recommendations to be submitted to parliament,” Roumi explained.

The new Transport Minister, Hadi al-Amiri, confirmed during his visit to Basra province that the Faw port construction project will be launched this year at an estimated cost of $66bn.

The construction of the Faw port alongside the expansion of the country’s existing 2,000 km of railway is part of a drive to modernize public infrastructure and kick-start Iraq’s economy now that major new oil contracts have been signed.

Goods, once unloaded at the new port, would then be loaded onto the new railway system and reach Europe overland more quickly than ships might reach Egypt’s Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

The port, to be called ‘Grand Faw’, will be constructed in two three-year stages. It will include 7,000 metres of dock ready to receive container ships. The 17 meter-deep dock for general cargo will cover 3,500 metres.

(Source: AKnews)

Southern Iraq’s Grand Faw Port project, recently approved by the Council of Ministers, will provide employment opportunities for 150,000, according to the National Coalition on Sunday.

“The Grand Faw Terminal, approved by the Council of Ministers in 2004, is considered one of the most important projects that can achieve revenues in billions of dollars for Iraq, in addition to providing 120,000 temporary employment opportunities and 30,000 permanent opportunities,” Hussein al-Assadi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The Grand Faw Terminal project covers an area of 14.7 million square metres, with a depth ranging from 15 to 17 metres, with construction continuing until 2028. The project is being implemented by an Italian consortium, in cooperation with the Projects Implementation Company in the Ministry of Transportation, for an investment cost reaching 4 billion Euros.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

A group of Italian firms will provide advisory services to the project of the al-Faw Big Port [Grand Faw] in Basra province, southern Iraq, according to a contract with the Iraqi Transportation Ministry.

The ministry reported the event in a statement on Sunday as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency, explaining that the project will be executed in stages.

“The project will be finalized by 2028,” the press release said.

It noted that firms will execute the project at a total investment cost of four billion Euros.

IBN believes that the lead contractor on the project is Technital.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

A tender is to be floated by Iraq’s transport ministry in the fourth quarter of 2011 for the main construction contract of the estimated $6bn Grand Faw Port in Basrah province, Meed has reported.

The Grand Faw port is designed to include 7,000 metres of dock for container ships and an additional 3,500 metres of dock for general cargo. The port will be 17 metres deep, allowing it to receive some of the world’s largest cargo ships. At present, Umm Qasr port is Iraq’s only deep-sea port.