MIDDLE EAST

Iraqis take over but SSA stays for time being

22 years ago

As from the beginning of July, responsibility for ports in Iraq passed to the new Iraqi Port Authority (IPA) technically bringing an end to the fiveyear concessions awarded by the Coalition Provisional Authority to SSA Marine and AP Moller to manage the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Al Zubair. The new administration wants to have the ports managed on fresh 10-year concessions.

The IPA is to receive $1.5 billion from international donors according to Mahmood Salih Abdul-Nabi, the incoming director general, who says that the authority is considering the possibility of perhaps eventually seeking a single management company to run both ports in a privatised environment, with AP Moller responding by saying that it would bid for such a contract.

Meanwhile SSA has signed an interim contract with the Iraqi transport ministry to continue part of its operations at Umm Qasr port following its handover to the IPA. “Following the previous contract’s expiry, we signed a bridging contract ? to continue part of our services at Umm Qasr until a management contract is awarded to the selected party, ” SSA’s senior project manager Fergus Moran informed the Gulf News. “We are managing the administration, accounts and security at Umm Qasr port”. At the time the work was awarded last year the contract was said to be for 12 months with options to renew for two further 12-month periods.

During its earlier 14-month Umm Qasr management contract, SSA handled over 1.2m tonnes of cargo including containers, break-bulk, ro-ro, construction, bulk grain, bagged rice and sugar, delivering $18m of revenue to the IPA.