The head of Iraqi Ports in the Ministry of Transportation signed a contract Dec. 30 with the South Korean company Daewoo for the completion of the Faw Port project in Basra.

Faw Port is considered a strategic national project for Iraq, as it will be the only Iraqi port capable of receiving large ships, enabling Iraq to become part of a new silk road via the transference of goods from east to west through its lands from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.

The project was raised for the first time in 1978, but due to internal and external controversy, it only began after the regime change in 2003. Kuwait later launched the construction of the Mubarak megaport, which raised Iraq's concern as the two ports are close in distance and competition could negatively affect Faw Port. Kuwait announced recently it stopped building Mubarak Port until any further announcement to assure it does not affect its neighbors and also due to economic hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Daewoo — a leader in building ports — completed the first two stages of the port. Then controversy erupted over which company might complete the next stages of the port, and demonstrations supported by Shiite militias took place in Basra, most recently on Dec. 18, calling for Daewoo to be replaced by the Chinese company CMEC.