One of many projects Iraq hopes will create a shorter transport route between the Middle East and Europe, bypassing the Suez Canal, is the long-planned and frequently delayed port of Grand Faw.

Under the deal, expected to be signed on Sunday, Daewoo E&C will handle construction works involving the construction of five berths for unloading ships and a container yard, Farhan al-Fartousi, Iraq's managing director of the General Ports Company, told Reuters in Basra.

In order to establish an access navigation channel, Daweoo will also conduct dredging and drilling work, Fartousi said.

According to him, the first phase should allow the port to receive three million containers, adding that the three construction phases should be completed in less than four years in total and that Iraq was ready to sign contracts for the other phases with 'any interested company.'

For now, Iraq has to rely primarily on the port of Umm Qasr in the south of the country, which sits at the top of the strategic Gulf waterway, in order to receive cargo ships. The port of Faw will be larger, allowing the biggest container ships to receive it.

Maritime Business World