The General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) is preparing to select an international operator for the Al Faw Grand Port's superstructure phase, the state-owned company’s director general told Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Thursday.

The mega port project is located in the south of Iraq in Basra.

Farhan Al-Fartousi said 11 international companies were invited to bid for the contract, adding that the contract will be awarded to the operator that best meets the port’s operational and commercial needs, supported by a detailed feasibility study addressing volume and return expectations.

In November 2024, Reuters had reported that the 11 shortlisted companies for the operator contract included China Merchants Port Group Co., Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen, French shipping group CMA CGM, Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), India’s Adani, Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), China's Cosco, and UAE-based ABM Global Shipping.

Al-Fartousi said the Al Faw Grand Port’s master plan has been designed to accommodate vessels with drafts up to 16.4 metres with depth reserves have been incorporated to enable further scalability.

He said the Port’s infrastructure phase is nearing completion, including all the announced berths and key components of the port’s link road.

To support safe navigation for larger vessels, Al-Fartousi said the company plans to install an integrated system of buoys and sensors. Unlike the Khor Abdullah Channel, where navigational buoys are spaced at 3 nautical miles, Faw will reduce this to 1.5–2 miles due to the port’s increased traffic and draft requirements.

Two towers are also set to be constructed near the breakwater to monitor environmental and navigational conditions such as wind speed, wave height, and tides. Additionally, a global vessel tracking system will be introduced to monitor and manage maritime traffic within Iraqi territorial waters.

The $5 billion Phase 1 of Faw Port is scheduled to be commissioned before the end of 2025, according to an April 2025 Zawya Projects report.