ICTSI to operate Iraqi port

A general view shows the Umm Qasr port in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), a global ports operator owned by Filipino billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., plans to invest an initial $130 million to modernize and expand a container port in Iraq.

ICTSI said in a stock exchange filing Thursday that it signed a contract with General Company for Ports of Iraq to operate, develop and expand container facilities at the port of Umm Qasr in Iraq.

The agreement, part of the company’s strategy to widen its overseas presence, involves the construction and operation of three new quays and management and operation of Quay No. 2, the filing showed.

ICTSI said the initial phase of the project will have 200 meters of quay with an estimated annual capacity of 300,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). With an estimated $100 million investment, the company plans to expand this to 600 meters of quay and 900,000 TEUs in 24 months. ICTSI said another $30 million will go toward the rehabilitation of the existing Berth 20.

ICTSI will operate the existing Berth 20 for a period of 10 years and the new container and general cargo terminal in the port for a concession period of 26 years.

Located at Iraq’s Gulf coast, Umm Qasr is the largest port in Iraq and the main gateway to the Iraqi market. The port handles liquid and dry bulk, general cargo and containers.

The port has 21 berths, with total berth length of 5,000 meters. Container throughput totaled 500,000 TEUs in 2013.