Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has been awarded a contract by the Iraqi government to build a port in the southern region of Basra at an investment of $110 million.

Mitsubishi said the project is being implemeted in partnership with multiple international contractors, including Turkey-based energy infrastructure provider Calik Enerji (CE), in which MC holds shares, and construction firm Gap Insaat, also Turkey-based.

Both part of the Calik Holding group, the two sister companies will play a major role in the construction work while Mitsubishi will be responsible for overall project coordination and also serve as the prime contractor, facilitating the import of steel structures and other necessary supplies from Japan.

The project is being funded through ODA loans provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The objective is to modernise existing industrial port facilities around Basra by expanding the oil products berth at Khor Al Zubair Port, and also building a new service berth for working ships and service boats at Umm Qasr Port, it added.

The rehabilitation of ports throughout Iraq is essential to meeting increasing demands for port infrastructure, which is growing rapidly as the volumes of trade flowing in and out of the country grows.

Rehabilitating this critical infrastructure will also contribute to further stabilizing the country’s economy as post-war reconstruction advances. This project is particularly noteworthy given that Khor Al Zubair and Umm Qasr are the only ports currently in operation in the Basra region, where a system of ports located in the 48 km wide tip of the country wedged in between Iran and Kuwait along the Arabian Gulf gives Iraq its only outlet to the sea.
 
In addition to this project, Mitsubishi intends to continue leveraging provisions under the Japanese Government policy framework for promoting export of “high-quality infrastructure” to identify opportunities that support Iraq’s efforts towards reconstruction, economic development, and increased quality of life.
 
The partnership between Calik Holding and Mitsubishi dates back to the 1990s when the two companies started collaborating on a number of plant construction projects in Central Asia, said the statement.

In 2015, the Japanese group entered into a strategic alliance with CH and CE that included the acquisition of shares in CE and the exchange of personnel, it added.-TradeArabia News Service