ICTSI said in a press release that chairman and president Enrique Razon Jr had just signed the expansion agreement paving the way for the two new berths, Berth 25 and Berth 26 to be developed.
The berths will boost annual capacity at BGT by 600,000 teu to a total of 1.2m teu and the terminal will be able to take in vessels of up to 10,000 teu. Combined with the adjacent Berth 27, it will offer a 600m continuous quay length and 50 hectares of yard area, with new container handling systems working in conjunction with state-of-the-art terminal operating systems.
“This new $100m investment follows hot on the heels of ICTSI’s development of Berth 27 and the rehabilitation and upgrade of berths 19, 20 & 21, a $150m investment," noted Razon.
"Our commitment to provide international standard port facilities and services in Iraq is plain to see. It also represents the fruit of a positive working relationship with the Iraq Ministry of Transport, General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) and Governorate of Basra as well as other government agencies. This combined effort will, when the new facilities are completed in 18 months time, deliver the new facilities that are essential to support Iraq’s key economic objectives including the resurgence of the non-oil economy,” he added.
The expansion project will be undertaken by ICTSI unit BGT, with construction scheduled to start immediately.
BGT ceo Phillip Marsham noted the increasing demand for bigger vessel calls at the Port of Umm Qasr. “Since we commenced operations at the North Port, Umm Qasr, we have striven to meet the new requirements of ship owners and deliver international standard services. The development of Berth 27, formally inaugurated in October 2016, represented enormous progress in this respect and the current expansion project will consolidate and expand this important work. Like other ports worldwide, Umm Qasr is now facing the challenge of handling larger size vessels," Marsham said.
ICTSI was awarded concessions in 2014 to operate, develop, and expand the container, general cargo and roro handling facilities at the Ports of Umm Qasr in Iraq.
A 21-year concession covers the management, operation and rehabilitation of the port´s existing facilities at Berth 19, 20 and 21, while a further 26-year concession has been granted to build a new container and general cargo terminal at Berths 25, 26, 27.
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