IBN: And those issues are not yet resolved to Iraq's satisfaction?
AD: Let me say that there is a difference of opinion now that might be reflected through the Iraqi Government, but I can assure you that officially the Iraqi Government didn't give the final word yet, and it might be discussed in the Iraqi parliament, and parliament may give its opinion to the cabinet to declare our final decision on how to resolve the problem with Kuwait.
IBN: Regarding Iraq's project for the Grand Faw port, the schedules for that I'm seeing are for plans to be agreed within a year or so, and construction starting some time after that. Do you have firmer schedules, and is it possible to pull the them forward?
AD: Let me say that we are too late for finalising the plans for construction – we are still in the early design stage, unfortunately. The Ministry of Transport previously didn't have enough efforts to speed up the design scheme for this port, and it is not going to be completed within the next 12 month. I think it will take more than a year to complete the design, and then a lot of preparation will be needed in order to see how that can be executed, whether the government is going to finance it, whether the private sector, whether an IPO – the Iraqi Ministry of Transport needs to work out these details in order to be ready to have our own port.
By the way, this port has been planned not only to server Iraq, it is planned also to serve Europe, to connect with railways via Iraq and Turkey to Europe, which will be a grand and a mega project for the region.
[...] southern port city of Basra, according to a report from AFP.The agency quotes government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh as saying that the company has to complete the project within two years of the final contract being [...]