Iraq has shortlisted 11 shipping companies to compete for the Grand Faw Port operation contract, with a decision on the winners set to be in January, Iraq's director general of the General Company for Ports told Reuters on Tuesday.

The shortlisted companies include China Merchants Port Group Co., Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen, French shipping group CMA CGM, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), India’s Adani, Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), China's Cosco and United Arab Emirates-based ABM Global Shipping LLC.

Iraq plans to select a winning company in January 2025, with operations set to begin in 2026, said Farhan al-Fartousi.

South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction completed the construction of five docks, which were handed over to Iraqi port authorities on Thursday during an inauguration attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.

Faw port is expected to operate at maximum capacity to receive 3.5 million containers in 2028, he added. The Grand Faw port is part of several projects undertaken to create a shorter transportation corridor between the Middle East and Europe, bypassing the Suez Canal.

Iraq launched a $17 billion project in 2023 to link the major commodities port on its southern coast by rail and roads to the border with Tütkiye, aiming to transform the country's economy after decades of war and crisis.

"The Grand Faw port will be a pivotal hub for transforming global transport trade toward Europe via Türkiye," said Fartousi.

The Development Road seeks to connect the Grand Faw Port in Iraq's oil-rich south to Türkiye, turning the country into a transit hub by shortening travel time between Asia and Europe to rival the Suez Canal.