OPEC producer Iraq is planning to buy new ships from international shipyards as it is pushing ahead with the construction of one of the world’s largest container ports, the official Iraq news agency reported on Monday.

About 41 percent of the Grand Faw Port in South Iraq has been completed while there are plans to expand other ports in the Arab country, including Umm Qasr near the Kuwait border.

“There is a plan to buy modern vessels from global shipyards to support the country’s strategy to expand maritime transport and trade,” the agency said, quoting a statement by the Iraqi Transport Ministry.

The South Korean company Daewoo is building the main piers of Faw Port under a $2.7 billion contract awarded by the Transport Ministry nearly 5 years ago.

Faw Port will have a capacity to handle 99 million tonnes annually and is intended to cope with an expected large increase in Iraq’s trade after the end of the war.

The Port comprises a 39km container quay and two km of berths along with a container warehouse and hinterland covering more than one million square metres.

The project was launched in 2010 but was blocked by cash shortages due to internal hostilities and low oil prices.
Source: Reuters (Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)