By: Logisticsmiddleeast.com

IFC commits $120m to expand Iraq’s Umm Qasr capacity
IFC will provide up to $120m to expand Umm Qasr Port Terminal 2, lifting container capacity to 830,000 TEUs with new cranes installed

The International Finance Corporation has approved a financing package of up to $120m to expand container handling capacity at Umm Qasr Port in southern Iraq.

The funding, allocated to Aloreen Company, will support the procurement of new quay and yard equipment at the dedicated container facility operated under the Basra Multipurpose Terminal concession.

Crane investment to lift throughput
The investment will finance four ship to shore cranes and ten rubber tyred gantry cranes for Terminal 2 at Umm Qasr Port.

The equipment upgrade will raise annual container handling capacity from 550,000 TEUs to 830,000 TEUs, representing an increase of more than 50%.

Umm Qasr, located approximately 70 km south of Basra, is Iraq’s primary maritime gateway and its only deep water port. The facility handles the majority of the country’s containerised and general cargo volumes.

The financing package comprises a loan of up to $97.74m from International Finance Corporation’s own account and additional mobilisation through its Managed Co Lending Portfolio Programme.

Expansion builds on earlier IFC support
The 10 year loan extends IFC’s prior financing in 2021, when it provided $45m in senior debt and mobilised a further $80m from other lenders to develop the container dedicated Terminal 2.

That phase focused on reducing vessel turnaround times, while Terminal 1 continues to operate as a multipurpose facility.

According to IFC, the total estimated cost of developing Terminal 2 stands at $400m. The latest capital injection responds to higher than expected volume growth at the facility and will support further expansion of handling capacity.

Aloreen has operated at Umm Qasr since 2016 under a 25 year concession agreement with the General Company for the Ports of Iraq, trading as Basra Multipurpose Terminal.

IFC stated that the project forms part of Iraq’s Development Road Project, which seeks to establish a transport corridor linking the Gulf with Turkey and onward into Europe.