AL MAQAL PORT BASRA KEEN FOR MORE BUSINESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000347 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/I AND EEB/TRA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD EWWT PGOV IZ SUBJECT: AL MAQAL PORT BASRA KEEN FOR MORE BUSINESS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Al Maqal port, one of five ports in Basra, is keen to become an important shipping center again, but requires a permanent bridge to replace the pontoon bridges blocking most ships. Al Maqal port was neglected by Saddam Hussein after Shia uprisings in favor of Umm Qasr port. Silt has accumulated after years of neglect, so further dredging is required, both around the port and in the Shatt Al Arab waterway. Captain Salah, Director General of the Port Authority, was confident that Al Maqal could attract significant additional commerce to Basra once these obstacles are overcome. End summary. -------------- New Bridge Needed -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In a visit to the Port of Al Maqal (Al Basra) on February 3, we met with the impressive technocrat Captain Salah Abood, Director General of the General Company for Ports in Iraq. Captain Salah was keen to increase the capacity of the port, and said the most urgent need was to replace the floating pontoon bridges which are blocking most ship traffic from coming to the port directly, although the port has 12 warehouses and plenty of pier space. The pontoon bridge can be opened to allow ships to pass through, but it is a slow process and infrequently done. The U.S. and the U.K. are using I-CERP funds to replace the pontoons with a permanent bridge with a center section that will raise to allow ships to pass. A groundbreaking ceremony for the USD 11.5 million Shatt Al Arab bridge took place on February 7 was attended by the Governor, the Chairman of the Provincial Council, the Commander of MND-SE, the Director of the Regional Embassy Office in Basra, and the media. The estimated completion timeline is 12-18 months at a cost of USD 11.5 million. Captain Abood said that a new bridge will be a huge positive difference for the daily life of the port and for Basrawis. Viewing the area below the pontoon bridges (four kilometers south of Al Maqal),we could see dozens of vessels berthed tightly together to offload goods, which then had to be transported by other methods. -------------- -- Port Older than Iraqi Army, Established in 1919 -------------- -- ¶3. (SBU) Al Maqal port is one of five ports in Basra. The others are the large Umm Qasr, and the smaller ports Khor Az Zubayr, Al Faw, and Abu Fulus. Captain Salah noted that since 2005, about 5,000 ) 6,000 ships use Basra's port facilities each year. Al Maqal port, also referred to as Al Basra, is on the southwest side of the Shatt al Arab waterway, in Al Basra reach, southern Iraq. Captain Salah said the port was established in 1919 and is thus older than the Iraqi state or the Iraqi army. His office is located in a building still in good condition, constructed by the British for the port. The Shatt Al Basra canal was built in the 1970s from Basra to Umm Qasr and became the only waterway usable during the Iran-Iraq war. Al Maqal port was heavily damaged during the Iran-Iraq War, and operations have been further affected by subsequent conflicts, poor maintenance, and the natural accumulation of silt. Major revitalization of Al Maqal was rejected by Saddam Hussein in favor of the newer Port of Umm Qasr, and as a consequence of the Shi,a uprisings in Basra after the 1991 war. Thus along with damage, Al Maqal has suffered deliberate government neglect for years. Qfor years. -------------- Dredging Needed -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Al Maqal is designed to accommodate 12 large vessels simultaneously. It has a grain berth, crane support, grain silos and warehousing for up to 160,000 tons of goods, as well as cold storage for 1,800 tons. Operations at the port have been limited to dhow traffic and some transits of larger vessels. Several wrecks blocking the Shatt al Arab have been removed but it has not been dredged for years and the silting is severe: 29 million cubic feet requires removal. After the war, there was only one dredge working, but now there are eight operational. There are two types of dredgers, one for the canal and one for the jetty. Al Maqal needs more jetty BAGHDAD 00000347 002 OF 002 dredges. Repairs are also underway to the regulators that control tidal effects and brackish water in the waterway. Captain Salah told us that there is an Iran-Iraq committee to review issues related to various waterway issues, including dredging. He also noted that the Europeans have assisted the port, with Denmark funding some renovation and Croatia donating a fireboat. Clearly there was a budding interest for private sector investment in the port. -------------- Frustration with Central Government -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Captain Salah displayed thinly veiled frustration with the central government noting the Ministry of Transportation had provided zero technical expertise. He also said that as of the end of August 2008, only 20 percent of the funds the port authority needed from the Ministry had been distributed. He added that the port authority was well staffed with the right expertise. &We have piers, warehouses, places for different kinds of storage. Once the bridge is replaced, I,m confident that there will be a significant increase in merchant traffic,8 Salah stated. (Comment: While Al Maqal could attract more business with infrastructure improvements, throughput compared with Umm Qasr will always be limited for a variety of structural and operational reasons. Upgrades to Umm Qasr will provide a greater return on investment. End comment.) -------------- ISPS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Captain Salah said that two other issues are hindering port development: lack of compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code to the International Maritime Organization (IMO); and the high cost of shipping insurance, as many insurers still classify Iraq as a war zone. A U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Assessment team visited Umm Qasr Port in May-June 2008 at the request of the Transportation Attache and will return in March 2009. The team will focus on achieving ISPS compliance for the Port of Umm Qasr and develop guidelines that can be used by the Government of Iraq to establish ISPS certification for all Iraqi ports. ISPS compliance is key to reducing insurance rates and drawing new investment and business to a port. CROCKER