Country Kuwait Operated by 2016 | Location Bubiyan Island | |
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Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is a controversial project under construction in the largest island in the Kuwaiti coastal island chain, Bubiyan Island. The port is intended to overlook the Arabian Gulf. The port was scheduled to be done and completely operational by 2016.
Mubarak Port Dispute
The port caused an uproar in Iraq. A research carried out by an Iraqi economist, Riyadh Jawad, claims that a 60 per cent drop in Umm Qasr traffic was likely and the viability of the new port challenged. Another Iraqi ports expert, Faleh Kadhim, said the Kuwaiti port plans are in reaction to Iraq’s attempts to compete with the Red Sea route currently used for most goods traveling from East Asia to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, through the construction of Al Faw Grand Port, together with a new railway system.
The implications of the port's construction are expected to severely impact the already-strained Iraq-Kuwait relationship, as the move is seen as provocative and unnecessary by many Iraqis and the Iraqi government. There were calls to resort to the United Nations to resolve the conflict.
As of 8 September 2011 Iraq’s foreign minister has said that the dispute over Mubarak al Kabir port project has been resolved. In another statement the Iraqi minister added a report by the technical team, submitted following their visit to Kuwait, dismissed all fears about the port.