Iraq will next month invite foreign firms to submit bids for the planned construction of a $6 billion port south of Basra, which together with a new rail system will create a regional transport conduit to rival the Suez Canal, officials say.
Iraq is also seeking investors to build 8,000 km (4,970 miles( of new rail line, including a $3 billion railway network around Baghdad. (more…)
Iraq Port
An Iraqi transport ministry delegation is discussing in Rome a project to build a giant port on the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
Iraq, which has a Arabian Gulf coastline of less than 100 kilometers (60 miles), has so far only one deep sea commercial port, Umm Qasr (Basra Province), with 4 small port plus the oil deep sea port.
According to the project, the port will be based in Al-Fao, a seaside town in the estuary of the Shatt al-Arab river. It will also have a number of first-class hotels and will be linked to the country’s road network by a high-speed motorway.
The estimated value of the project is $20 billion. The tender for the construction of the port has yet to be officially announced
Eng. Kadhum