By: Zawya

Iraq will select three companies for the management and operation of its mega Al Faw Grand Port under construction in southern Iraq, an official has said.

The megaport is slated to be one of the world’s largest 20 container terminals, with a capacity to handle nearly 99 million tonnes per year.

“Eleven companies have applied to manage and operate Grand Faw Port…we will choose three of them for this contract,” Farhan Al-Fartousi, director of the General Company for Ports in Iraq, a subsidiary of the transport ministry, told Al-Iqtisad News.

In April, Iraqi officials said it is consulting with US-based KBR to help identify an operator for the port, which is expected to be commissioned in late 2025, while phase 2 would be completed in 2029.

In November 2024, Reuters reported that the 11 shortlisted companies for the operator contract included China Merchants Port Group Co., Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen, French shipping group CMA CGM, Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), India’s Adani, Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), China's Cosco, and UAE-based ABM Global Shipping.

Phase 1 cost around $5 billion, including nearly $2.6 billion for five main jetties, which were constructed by Daewoo Company of South Korea.

Part of the 'Development Road' project, the port will be linked to a  rail line and motorway stretching nearly 1,200 kilometers to the northern border with Turkey, through which it will be connected to Europe.