By rosebell
As a logistical hub that aims to link Asia and Europe through Iraq, making it a crucial link in global trade, the immersed tunnel for Iraq’s Al Faw Grand Port project is located on the shores of the Arabian Gulf, Al Faw Grand Port and its levelling has been completed for the second segment. Also its capacity for handling 25 million containers and 55 million tons of bulk cargo a year is a remarkable point.
Connecting Al Faw Grand Port with an international highway, the Basra Tunnel will run beneath the Shatt al-Arab waterway and with 2.4km length is the first immersed tunnel in the Middle East.
Levelling for the second segment was conducted beneath the Khor Al-Zubair navigational channel at a depth of 23m, with a water level of 12m above the section.
According to the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, Dr Eng. Farhan Al-Fartousi: “The 126m-long, 45,000-ton segment was manufactured in the designated dry dock.It was equipped with advanced systems for balance and alignment, enabling its precise immersion and connection to the first section, forming an integral part of the structural framework of the tunnel.”
“The total length of the tunnel segments currently immersed in water, including those within the Khor Al-Zubair channel and the approach near Um Qasr, had reached 441m out of 1.24km.The total length of the tunnel exceeds 2.4km, executed using the immersed tunnel technique, with unprecedented international standards in Iraq and the region,” added Dr Al-Fartousi.
Appreciating joint efforts of the Iraqi engineering teams and the foreign companies involved, Dr Al-Fartousi said:”What we are witnessing today is the result of fruitful collaboration between Iraqi expertise and international experience. This achievement reflects Iraq’s capability to confidently undertake mega projects that meet global standards.”
