Iraq completes key reclamation work in Grand Faw port

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the General Company for Ports of Iraq announced the completion of reclamation, one of the most significant components of the development.

Farhan Al-Fartousi, the Director-General of the company, told Shafaq News Agency that the contractor for the Grand Faw Port project had completed the reclamation of submerged areas within the container yard, marking a “significant step forward” in the project's implementation.

He explained that work has now shifted to the land area to prepare the yard to match the level of the five planned quays. Over 10.5 million cubic meters of various types of "spoil" material were used for the reclamation, reaching a depth of 7 meters. Around 3 million cubic meters remain to complete the final layer of the yard's surface.

The container yard spans 2,000 meters in length and 600 meters in width, with an annual capacity of 3.5 million containers, making it one of the largest facilities within the port project, with 89% of the work already completed.

Previously, in February, Al-Fartousi informed Shafaq News Agency that progress on the container handling yard, one of five key infrastructure projects at the Grand Faw Port, had reached 86%. The yard, part of the project's first phase, covers 2,000 square meters, with a 7-meter depth below water.

Al-Fartousi added that the yard’s annual capacity is 3.5 million containers and is located in the port's basin behind the five quays. It is set to become the largest container handling area in Iraq’s ports, and the project is a vital part of the country's plan to enhance its maritime and international trade capabilities.

The Grand Faw Port, a strategic project in the far south of Iraq, located on the Faw Peninsula in Basra Province, aims to transform the country into a regional trade hub by connecting it to global transportation networks.

With an estimated cost of $4.6 billion, the project spans 54 square kilometers and is expected to have an annual capacity of 99 million tons, making it one of the largest ports in the Arabian Gulf and the 10th largest in the world.

The port is designed to accommodate the largest commercial vessels with depths of up to 19 meters.

In 2024, the concrete quay walls were completed, and foundation work began, with simultaneous progress on the container yard, as efforts focus on completing the five remaining infrastructure projects concurrently.