Container Shipping Line to Open New Freight Clearance Facility

FRANCE – IRAQ – After over thirty three years of continuous presence in Iraq, container shipping group CMA CGM has announced the opening of its new 165,000 square metre bonded ‘dry port’ near Baghdad in the Abu Ghreib area, in Iraq, in June 2013. Exclusively managed and operated by the French based company, the dry port will give customers the opportunity to custom clear their cargo near Baghdad instead of Umm Qasr. The concept of a dry port is to provide an inland intermodal freight gateway with direct road and/or rail links to a traditional, established seaport but offering speedier and more convenient access to customers.

The new Dry Port will be connected to CMA CGM’s inland transportation network, with a possible railway connection 3 kilometres away from the site and fast in bond transit from the established seaport at Umm Qasr which became strategically important when Basra proved too vulnerable to attack during the Iran/Iraq war. The storage facilities for full containers, LCL and refrigerated cargo passing through the new terminal will benefit from 24 hours surveillance and security services, keeping the cargo safe at all times.

With 4 offices strategically located in Iraq, 2 dedicated feeders connecting the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr with Khorfakkan hub, the exclusive concession of the Terminal No.4 in Umm Qasr port, and the opening of this new dry port, CMA CGM says the move confirms its leadership position in the Iraqi market in terms of volume, service, and innovation, and encourages the development of commercial activities and the creation of new businesses in this strongly developing market.

CMA CGM extended the deep water facilities at Umm Qasr three yeas ago which enabled it to offer Iraq’s first direct import/export reefer services and now, of the dry port’s total surface area of 165,000 square metres, 8,500 square metres has been divided into 7 building units which includes an onsite CMA CGM administration building. The facility has a storage capacity of 12,000 TEU’s and advanced container scanner facilities avoiding time consuming manual inspections, as well as custom offices located inside the dry port itself.