Iraq’s Umm Qasr Port To Expand Container Terminal With $120 Million Financing

Dubai (PlantAndEquipment.com) - Iraq is planning to increase capacity at Umm Qasr Port after the International Finance Corporation granted funding of up to $120 million for Aloreen Company for Investments Limited.

The investment will support four ship-to-shore cranes and 10 rubber-tyred gantry cranes to improve the container terminal known as Basra Multipurpose Terminal.

The extension is planned to enhance yearly container handling capacity by more than 50%, from around 550,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to over 830,000 TEUs.

Umm Qasr, approximately 70 kilometers south of Basra, is Iraq's primary marine gateway and sole deep-water port, handling the majority of the country's container and cargo traffic.

The package comprises an IFC loan of up to $97.74 million as well as extra capital made available under the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Programme.

The finance builds on the IFC's 2021 assistance for Terminal 2 construction and is in line with Iraq's construction Road Project, which seeks to connect Gulf trade routes with Turkey and then to Europe.