Completed Projects: Umm Qasr Seaport
Immediately following the spring 2003 conflict, USAID began work to refurbish and reopen the Port of
Umm Qasr, Iraq’s primary commercial port that had become inoperable due to neglect. The USAID program
both dredged the port and helped the Iraqi Port Authority build key capacity, providing extensive
equipment and support. Two Iraqi dredgers, rehabilitated by USAID, will ensure continued maintenance.
The port reopened to commercial traffic mid-June 2004, servicing the first passenger vessel a month
later. Since then, as many as 80 ships offload cargo at the port every month. Cargo volume continues to
increase across a range of commodities, including cement, sugar, and wheat.
The Port of Umm Qasr, on
Iraq's border with Kuwait, is the
country's only deepwater ocean
port. Although the facilities were
not damaged during the conflict,
they had not been maintained
for several years and were extensively
looted. Much of the
port's infrastructure required
repair, refurbishment, and in
many situations substantial replacement
and updating.
USAID removed silt, unexploded
ordinance, and sunken
ships left since the Iran-Iraq
War. In coordination with the
Iraqi Port Authority, USAID restored
the port's capacity to
process food and commercial
shipments. Activities included
establishing electrical power, repairing cargo handling equipment, and rehabilitating grain silos, the customs
house, and administrative offices. The navigation channel and berths for deep-draft ships were
dredged in coordination with the United Nations.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- All 21 berths were dredged for deep-draft ships; the entire port was dredged to an average depth of
12.5 meters. Two Iraqi dredgers, rehabilitated by USAID, perform ongoing maintenance dredging
the harbor.
- Applied port tariffs on June 20, 2003, contributing to financial sustainability of port operations. Port
revenues now outpace costs associated with handling cargo, and will help support capital repairs.
- The grain-receiving facility was renovated, allowing it to process up to 600 metric tons of grain an
hour, thus unloading a standard grain freighter in 3 1/2 days. Maintenance and management of the
grain-receiving facility have been handed over to the IZ Grain Board.
- Renovation of the administration building, passenger terminal, customs hall building, and near-by
the electrical substations has been completed.
- Installed generators, energizing all three 11-kV ring mains for power distribution and restoring power
to critical parts of the port.
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