Hutchinson Ports in partnership with Nawah to manage Basra Port operations TRANSPORT
MAHMOUD KASSEM
Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Ports is tying up with Nawah Port Management to manage operations at the historic Port of Basra in southern Iraq.
Hutchinson Ports will take on the management of the port on a day-to-day basis under the operating name and will service a diverse range of customers ranging from large multinationals to local Iraqi merchants.
“We view NPM’s operations at the Port of Basra as an integral piece of our expanding Middle East strategy and are excited about the opportunities this partnership creates,” said Andy Tsoi, Hutchison Ports’ managing director for the Middle East and Africa.
“We believe strongly in the growth story of Basra, Iraq, and the Middle East as a whole and are delighted to have the opportunity to participate in and support the growth of the business over the long term.”
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Hutchinson Ports has 49 ports in 26 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
Last year Hutchinson Ports handled 81.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
“Hutchison Ports has an exceptional team and a proven track record of delivering value to its customers, employees and the regions in which it invests,” said Eric Clark, chief executive officer of Nawah Port Management.
“We are delighted for the opportunity to partner with one of the leaders in the industry – a company which shares our vision of NPM as both a unique maritime asset in southern Iraq as well as strategic platform in the epicenter of one of the fastest growing regions in the world.”
In 2012, Nawah entered into an agreement with the Iraq ministry of transport to modernise Berth 14 at the Port of Basra.