The corruption in the Grand Faw Port project is deepening, calls for a demonstration in front of the parliament to pursue those involved in it intensify.
The Grand Faw Port project is entering its worst phase among major corruption cases in modern Iraq’s history. This vital project is deemed the most important economically for Iraq, as it serves as a strategic alternative for state resources after the end of the oil era, given its geographical location qualifying it to be the main transit route within the global economic development program launched by China, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
Fourteen years after laying its foundation stone, political conflicts, internal and external interests’ conflicts, and corruption factors continue to hinder its completion. The People’s Movement for the Belt and Road called today, Saturday, for a demonstration in the Green Zone area to expose the financial and administrative corruption files in the Grand Faw Port.
The Grand Faw Port project represents an important economic and political goal due to its significant financial cost and political and social importance. Many political actors and armed groups seek to control or undermine it to achieve personal gains and political objectives.
Hussein Ali al-Karawi, the head of the organizing committee, said, “The demonstration will be in front of the parliament to pressure for the formation of a committee to look into the corruption files related to the Grand Faw Port.”
He emphasized the necessity of “pursuing everyone proven to be involved in obstructing the completion of the Grand Faw Port, starting from the referral process to the low completion rates, and opposing Iraq’s accession to the Belt and Road Initiative.”
He pointed out that “the parliament is required to take reform measures, combat corruption, evaluate the government’s work path, and demand an investigation into the funds spent on the Grand Faw Port and the aspects of their expenditure.”
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on January 16th last year that the Iraqi government had approved recommendations to establish and operate a fixed gas platform at the Grand Faw Port, describing it as the “first of its kind in the national sector.”
It is scheduled to start operation by 2028, and according to international navigation experts, the port will change the map of global maritime transport. Goods will be transported from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia to Europe through Iraq and vice versa. It will be a strong competitor to the Suez Canal on the Red Sea. Additionally, it will be capable of transporting oil, gas, chemicals, and all other global trade products, meaning this route will reduce the transportation time between Europe and Asia by 11 days.
The Grand Faw Port includes 99 berths and will be the largest port in West Asia, surpassing the Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates. The port will have strategic importance for Iraq and will achieve substantial financial returns through cargo and oil product transportation faster than before.
International transportation and economic specialists revealed in a previous report to “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that the rail link with Iran and Saudi Arabia poses a major threat to the Grand Faw Port project and the Development Road.
A member of the parliamentary transport committee, former Transport Minister Amer Abdul Jabbar, during a conversation with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed,” stated that “the issue of the rail link with Iran and Saudi Arabia will have negative consequences on the Grand Faw Port project and the development road.”
The rehabilitation operations of the Grand Faw Port in southern Iraq continue as it serves as the main station for receiving goods before land transportation. The project aims to build 15 train stations for passenger and freight transport on a railway line with a speed of 140 kilometers per hour, starting from Basra in the south, passing through Baghdad, and reaching Turkey’s borders.
It is worth mentioning that the maritime time for ships loaded with goods from the Shanghai Port in China to the Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands takes about 33 days, while it will only take 15 days when goods move from Shanghai to the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, then to the Grand Faw Port, and from there through the Iraqi dry canal to the Mediterranean ports in Turkey, and from there to the Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands, meaning reducing the trip time by more than 50 percent.
