Iraqi port requires swift decision

The contract to design and build the new Basra Grand Port on Iraq's Gulf coast will be immensely lucrative, so it is little wonder that the competition between the two rival group's making quite different proposals is hotting up.

The cheaper Italian-designed option at Al-Faw appears to be the government's favourite. This has prompted sniping from the rival scheme put forward by Iraqi entrepreneur Sheikh Josef Hanna. Hanna's plan carries an eye-watering $12bn price tag, but he makes a persuasive case.

It is not just those attached to the sheikh's project who have voiced concerns about the Al-Faw proposal. Many industry experts say the silt swept down the Shatt al-Arab waterway from Basra past the Faw peninsula is either too heavy to make a deep-sea port viable, or would require such constant dredging to keep the channel open that the cost would be prohibitive.

This will be a particular concern in Baghdad, since it would mirror the difficulties experienced at Iraq's current deep-sea port at Umm Qasr. Traffic and revenues at Umm Qasr have surged since the port was reclaimed from Sadrist militias last year, but the channel to the site is clogged with silt and wrecks. Redevelopment work at Umm Qasr will continue, but the decision to channel more money into building a new port is certainly the correct one. However, Baghdad must avoid building a new port with the same old problems.

Only an exhaustive feasibility study of the two proposals will reveal whether the claims from the Hanna camp are borne out. The right port in the right location will provide a massive boost to Iraq's national economy, but it will need foreign investors to be confident in the project. Having two projects on the table will only create uncertainty and further acrimonious wrangling. The government needs to move swiftly to end the debate.