Umm Qasr

active

 The Umm Qasr Port (UQP or the Port) is located approximately 70 km south of Basra, Iraq, and is considered Iraq’s main port handling most of the container traffic and serving a large portion of the Iraqi population. Aloreen Company for Investments (Aloreen or the Company) has been operating since 2016, under a 25-year concession agreement from the General Council for the Ports of Iraq (GCPI), with the commercial name of Basra Multipurpose Terminal (“BMT”), a multipurpose terminal (“Terminal 1”) at UQP. The Company is now seeking to increase its overall capacity by developing a new terminal exclusively dedicated to containers (Terminal 2 or the Project). IFC will provide up to US$ 45 million in senior debt financing to the Company from IFC’s own account and help mobilize additional financing from other lenders. Construction activities for Terminal 2 started in 2017 and are expected to be completed in the course of 2021. Once phase 1 is completed, the new terminal will have an annual handling capacity of 0.4 million twenty-foot equivalent unit. The Project development entails the construction of a 611-meter quay wall, a 40 ha containers yard, one Ro-Ro berth, and one heavy lift area. Terminal 2 is constructed within the property of state-owned GCPI and therefore all necessary environmental permits are their responsibility. Construction activities include dredging works, erection of a quay wall, ground improvement; setting of pavement & utilities; electrical & communication technology (ICT) installation; and buildings of other facilities warehouses. Royal Haskoning DHV is the project Engineer, ENKA is the main Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project contractor for the construction of the quay wall and related dredging activities (completed in 2020), while Menard was retained for soil improvement work (completed in March 2020). Under agreements signed with GCPI, BMT may construct a dredger service berth within the Umm Qasr Port, the location and design of which has not yet been defined.  At the time of IFC’s review, in July 2020, the construction activities yet to be undertaken included the construction of the few operational utility buildings and the mechanical-electrical package. BMT is in the process of tendering this last package.