Iraq invited international bids to build a breakwater and service pier for the Grand Faw Port in the southern province of Basra, the Transport Ministry said today in a statement posted on its website.
Bids are due by July 15, according to the statement. Interested bidders should attend a clarification meeting on May 28 at the state-run Iraq Ports Company in Basra, it said.
The project will be financed by the Iraqi government and falls within its 2012 budget. Bidders should have implemented at least three similar projects in the last 10 years and have a traded capital of no less than the equivalent of 200 million euros ($259 million).
Iraq holds the world’s fifth-largest crude deposits including Canadian oil sands, according to data from BP Plc. (BP/) The government is trying to attract foreign investment and expertise to help rebuild the infrastructure and boost energy exports in order to revive an economy shattered by years of conflict, sanctions and sabotage.
On March 5, Omran Radhi, director general of the State Company for Iraq’s Ports, said the government allocated $341 million to build the breakwater as part of the planned $6 billion port in the southern part of the country.