Project record

Grand Faw phase-one marine and port-access system

Container ship alongside a completed Grand Faw quay with the port breakwater visible offshore

Grand Faw Port / General Company for Ports of Iraq

Grand Faw's first operating system combines five handed-over container berths, a 23 km navigation channel reported complete to 19.8 m, terminal reclamation and ground improvement, twin breakwaters, an immersed road tunnel, and a 62 km connecting road that received its final GCPI Performance Certificate on 8 July 2026.

Project signal

Construction in Iraq

Treat Grand Faw as one connected marine production system rather than a series of isolated civil packages. Berth availability has limited value unless channel depth, basin access, tug and pilotage readiness, terminal handover, road-tunnel access, and operating responsibility converge.

Current status Core marine assets built; terminal, tunnel, and commercial-operating interfaces remain under verification Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Iraq / Middle East

Segment

Port infrastructure

Status

Core marine assets built; terminal, tunnel, and commercial-operating interfaces remain under verification / Confirmed

Evidence reviewed

15 July 2026

Controlled taxonomy

Related sectors

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Knowledge context

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Project anatomy

Scope, counterparties, and execution logic

Client / authority
General Company for Ports of Iraq / Iraq Ministry of Transport
Delivery parties
Daewoo E&C, Technital
Contract route
Multiple GCPI and Ministry of Transport design, construction, supervision, and operating-readiness packages. No current primary procurement notice has been found for the separately reported remaining-pier bid.
Execution window
Five berths and the navigation channel are reported physically complete, all immersed-tunnel elements are seated, and the connecting road has final certification. Terminal, tunnel, navigation-safety, marine-service, and commercial-operating acceptance remain the decisive sequence; no reliable full-operation date or additional-pier package is established in the primary record.
Works package
Five container berths and terminal platform, navigation-channel and port-basin dredging, reclamation and filling, east and west breakwaters, a container terminal, connecting road, and immersed road tunnel.
Marine interfaces
The quay wall, berth pocket and basin, 23 km navigation channel, breakwater shelter, dredged-material and reclamation programme, tug and pilotage capability, terminal equipment, and landside tunnel-road connection must reach compatible readiness before sustained vessel operations can scale.
Commercial read
The existing phase-one works point to near-term demand around commissioning, marine services, navigation safety, surveys, terminal systems, maintenance dredging, and interface management. Treat any additional-pier opportunity as unconfirmed until GCPI, the Ministry of Transport, or an official procurement channel publishes the package.
Next milestone
Confirm terminal-A final handover and equipment readiness, immersed-tunnel commissioning, accepted basin and berth-pocket depths, tug and pilotage commissioning, and named commercial operating responsibility.

Material change register

What changed, when, and what it proves

Only source-bound events that alter phase, scope, counterparties, delivery, completion, commissioning, or acceptance are listed. A change can advance the record without proving the next gate.

The 62 km connecting road received GCPI's final Performance Certificate

Daewoo E&C reported final completion approval after 45 months of construction and a one-year defects period. The certificate closes the road package, not the immersed-tunnel, terminal, navigation, marine-service, or commercial-operation interfaces.

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The owner was still testing operating and partnership models

GCPI reviewed berthing, cargo handling, operating economics, and international partnerships. This confirms that physical assets had moved into operating preparation while final commercial responsibility and the operating model remained open.

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Trial shipping calls began while full commercial operation remained a target

The port authority said the navigation channel and main berths had been prepared and first vessels received on trial lines, while infrastructure and land-sea connections were still being developed. Trial calls are not evidence of sustained commercial throughput.

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All immersed-tunnel elements were seated beneath Khor Al-Zubair

GCPI marked completion of element placement and allowed a site walk-through, but its notice said service entry would follow in later project stages. Mechanical, electrical, safety, closure, testing, and operating acceptance therefore remain separate from structural placement.

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The owner reported the navigation channel complete and the terminal yard at 96.5%

GCPI reported the 23 km channel at 100%, 19.8 m final depth and 200 m width, the five berths at 100%, and the 2,000 m by 600 m container yard at 96.5%. These are package progress statements; they do not prove hydrographic acceptance, equipment handover, or commercial commissioning.

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Terminal-A filling reached 93% with ground improvement still active

The owner reported more than 11 million m3 of fill, PVD installation and surcharge work behind the five berths. The first area behind berths one and two had preliminary acceptance, showing that quay completion still depended on phased terminal formation and soil consolidation.

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Iraq received the five completed phase-one berths

The Prime Minister's office recorded handover of the five Daewoo-built berths and the first commercial vessel call. At the same event, the berths were described as the backbone of phase one rather than completion of the entire port system.

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The western breakwater was recognised as the world's longest breakwater

Daewoo E&C records a 15.952 km rubble-mound breakwater and Guinness recognition on 2 April 2020. The breakwater created the sheltered-water basis for the port but did not by itself establish navigable depth, berth or terminal readiness.

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Delivery watch

Evidence needed next

Confirm terminal-A final handover and equipment readiness, immersed-tunnel commissioning, accepted basin and berth-pocket depths, tug and pilotage commissioning, and named commercial operating responsibility.

Decision watchpoints

  • Navigation-channel and port-basin acceptance depths
  • Terminal operator and cargo-handling mobilisation
  • Tug, pilotage, and vessel-traffic readiness
  • Immersed-tunnel and connecting-road handover
  • Primary notice for any additional berth or pier package

Related records 2

Project availability status

This public project page is a tracked market record rather than a tender notice, contractual commitment, or commercial instruction. Use the status, confidence label, evidence-review date, and source note together when judging how much weight to place on the signal.

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Record control

Evidence reviewed date is not a project-event date.

IMWO changes phase, participants, scope, completion, or acceptance wording only when a dated source establishes the change. The review date records when the evidence set was checked; it does not claim that physical work changed on that date.

Evidence reviewed 15 July 2026 Sources in this record 12

Source record

The owner and contractor record now separates physical progress from operating readiness. The five berths were handed over on 7 November 2024. By 19 June 2025, terminal-A filling was reported at 93%, with more than 11 million m3 placed and PVD ground improvement continuing. On 4 December 2025, the owner reported the 23 km navigation channel at 100% and 19.8 m final depth, the container yard at 96.5%, and the five berths at 100%. All immersed-tunnel elements were seated by 20 December, but the owner described later work before service entry. January 2026 material confirmed trial shipping calls and continued infrastructure preparation; March material kept operator selection, berthing, cargo handling, and partnership models under review. Daewoo E&C confirmed on 8 July 2026 that the 62 km connecting road had received GCPI's final Performance Certificate after construction and the defects period. That road certificate does not establish tunnel commissioning, terminal handover, accepted basin depths, or full commercial operation.

Phase: construction. Evidence reviewed: 15 July 2026.

Project sources 12