Funding secured to expand Iraq’s only deepwater port

The operator of Umm Qasr, the only deepwater port in Iraq, has secured new funding for the facility’s upgrading and expansion.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has granted a $120 million loan to operator Aloreen Company for Investments to develop an efficient terminal that aims to reduce vessel turnaround times.

The financing package will help the company gain equipment to increase the terminal’s annual handling capacity by over 50 percent from 550,000 to 830,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.

The port supports Iraq’s planned $17 billion Development Road Project, which involves the construction of a 1,200km rail line and a parallel motorway from Faw Port, at the northern tip of the Gulf of Basra, to the northern border with Turkey. From there, it is linked to Europe via a Turkish rail network.

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The investment aligns with the World Bank’s country partnership framework, which sets a roadmap in Iraq for prioritising infrastructure upgrades, spurring economic diversification and attracting investment, including in transport.

Since 2005, IFC has invested and mobilised more than $2.5 billion for projects in Iraq. 

In September, Oman informed Baghdad that it wants to be part of a multibillion-dollar rail and road project along with Turkey, Qatar and the UAE.

Iraq, Opec’s second-largest oil producer, hopes the project – which could create up to 20,000 jobs – will help the country become a regional transit and business hub.