The Grand Faw Port (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: ميناء الفاو الكبير) (

Romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

: mina'a al faw al kabir) is a port under construction on the coast of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, on the northern tip of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. The port is considered a strategic national project for Iraq and will become one of the largest ports in the world and the largest in the Middle East, in addition, the port will strengthen Iraq’s geopolitical position in the region and the world.

History

The port is located in the Faw peninsula, south of

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

. The history of this project dates back to after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, then was re-presented in the seventies, and the first serious and operational implementation steps began in the eighties, but after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, the project was halted. After the military invasion of Iraq led by

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and allies, and the fall of the previous regime, major international investment companies headed to Iraq to re-propose the implementation of the project. A proposal was made by a major investment company and the construction phase was supposed to be completed, and the operation to be started by 2038. But the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

turned it down and made major design changes. The ministry’s changes aimed to expand the project size from 12 to 54 square km, establish about 100 berths for unloading and loading different types of goods, construct power plants, water desalination plants, construct a container area with an area of more than one million square meters, and a multi-purpose yard with an area of 600 square km. As well as the constructing of refineries for oil derivatives, a petrochemical plant, and expanding the railway stations connection Basra with the other governorates in Iraq, and the construction of new one to connect Faw Peninsula with Basra. Furthermore, Iraq is planning to establish large

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

in the Faw peninsula. According to experts, the delay of the project is related to financial, technical, and internal and external political problems, which greatly delayed the completion of the first phase of the project.

Overview

The project was first official proposed and announced in 2010, however countless delays due to the conflict in Iraq, and the blockade by cash shortages due to internal hostilities and low oil prices. caused the project to be halted. However finally, in 2020 the Prime Minister of Iraq

Mustafa al-Kadhimi Mustafa Abdul Latif Mishatat ( ar, مصطفى عبد اللطيف مشتت; born 5 July 1967), known as Mustafa al-Kadhimi, alternatively spelt Mustafa al-Kadhimy, is an Iraqi politician, lawyer and bureaucrat and former intelligence officer who ...

launched the second phase of the port, with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n company Daewoo Engineering winning the $2.7billion contracts for the port in December. Several other companies fought for the contracts including

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, Emirati and

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companies.

hopes will create a shorter transportation corridor between the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

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, bypassing the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

, through the eventual expansion of a national rail network.

Construction

The

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

of the port have already been completed costing over 1 billion dollars, they became the world's longest at 14.523 km. The breakwaters were constructed by Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd (

), GCPI (

) and TECHNITAL (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) in Basra, Iraq on 2 April 2020 as recognized by

Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. Construction on the first sections of the main berth has begun, as well as roads, and a tunnel to connect it to Um-Qasr port across the Khor-Al-Zubair waterway.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/iraqs-al-faw-port-to-become-largest-in-middle-east/ * https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/iraq-lays-cornerstone-for-next-phase-of-grand-port-of-al-faw-project-in-basra-2/ * https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/76023-largest-breakwaters Ports and harbours of Iraq Basra Governorate Naval installations Ports and harbours of the Arab League Transport in the Arab League