Basra Governorate is an Iraqi governorate located in the far south of Iraq and has borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia from the south, Iran from the east, shares local borders with both Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces in the north, and Muthanna to the west. The center of the governorate is the city of Basra.
Basra Governorate is the third largest governorate in Iraq in terms of population (3.8 million people according to the 2011 census) and the sixth largest province in Iraq in terms of area (19,070 km2). Economically, Basra Governorate is the only port of Iraq, and its main maritime outlet to the Persian Gulf. It includes oil fields including the Rumaila field and the Shuaiba fields. by virtue of its location as it is located in the fertile plains of Mesopotamia, it is considered one of the main centers for the cultivation of rice, barley, wheat and millet. it is also famous for raising herds of livestock, and it is located on a land of different terrain between a plain, a mountain, a plateau and a desert. The companion of Utbah bin Ghazwan built the city of Basra by order of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab.
Basra historically:
The ancient city of Basra is the first Islamic city to be built outside the borders of the Arabian Peninsula. It was built on the west bank of the Shatt al-Arab River, which forms the confluence of the two famous Iraqi rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. Most famously, the Utbah bin Ghazwan line this city in the fourteenth year of the Hijra during the Islamic conquest of Iraq.
As for what has been mentioned above about Basra, dear reader, it is a very simple definition of the ancient and rich history of this city, as its history extends from ancient times through to the present day.
Basra and its suffering from the ravages of corruption:
Basra, as is known to all, is the economic capital of Iraq and its only maritime outlet, and it embraces nearly two-thirds of the Iraqi oil reserves,
It owns giant oil fields, as well as natural gas fields, and represents the main source for the production and export of Iraqi oil.
Basra contains the largest oil wealth in Iraq, as statistics indicate that it owns 15 fields out of 77 known fields, of which 10 productive fields are still waiting for development. these fields also contain oil reserves of more than 65 billion barrels, constituting 59% of the total reserves Iraqi oil.
Just as Basra owns Umm Qasr port, it is the largest Iraqi port located in the Umm Qasr region near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. It is managed by the General Company for Ports. The port was established in 1930 and is considered one of the most important ports in Iraq.
The port of Umm Qasr was and still one of the best Iraqi ports controlling an important section of the Arabian Gulf. But it is currently suffering marginalization by the authorities, as it is not qualified and needs a lot of work so that it is one of the important ports in the Gulf region. The port receives giant ships of deep draft that are difficult to pass With Shatt water. Noting that the Ministry of Transport in 2010, “South” and “North” divided the port into two parts and each has its own administration, and 80% of Iraqi imports pass through it. as the Ministry of Trade relies on the port directly to import various foodstuffs and commodities .
As for the water in Basra, the governorate has suffered for decades from a continuous deterioration in the drinking water and sewage network! Yes, drinking water in the governorate that owns the mouth of two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. “The Iraqi authorities failed to manage and organize water resources in Iraq in an appropriate manner, which resulted in depriving the residents of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq – which numbered about 4 million people – of their right to drinking water. Safe, the main water sources in Basra are the Shatt al-Arab River and its freshwater canals, but the multiple government failures for several years, including mismanagement of sources upstream, poor regulation of pollution and sanitation, chronic neglect and mismanagement of water infrastructure, have caused a deterioration in the quality of water infrastructure. These waterways, although the deterioration of water sources in Basra has been a persistent problem for decades. It became an integrated crisis in the summer of 2018, when at least 118,000 people were transferred to the hospital due to poisoning caused by drinking water, and it is no secret to the reader that what Basra is going through Over the past 17 years, corruption was established by the administration and its affiliated political parties, and they all became partners in the destruction of the province, whose oil exports constitute 80 percent of the Iraqi budget.
Basra, which is rich in its resources, wealth, and its important geographical location, if it were administered by a national soul, it would be the richest part of the earth, but there is no life for whom you call!
It is stipulated in international law that the afflicted city is represented by the lack of water, electricity, health and education.as a result Basra has actually turned into a city afflicted by all international standards, these requirements of life are stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in all constitutions of the world, including the Iraqi constitution. Basra simpler elements of life?
Among the great examples that indicate rampant corruption in the state’s joints in general in the Basra Governorate in particular: The Faw Port project is an Iraqi port in the Faw peninsula, south of Basra Governorate. The cost of the project is about € 4.6 billion and the capacity of the planned port is estimated at 99 million tons annually. To be one of the largest ports bordering the Arabian Gulf and the tenth in the world, the foundation stone for this project was laid on April 5, 2010.
The port is located in the Ras al-Bisha area at the end of the continental shelf of Iraq. It is a qualitative leap in its geopolitical importance to link Iraq to the world by restoring the importance of the site linking the East and the West. That its construction will change the global maritime transport map, and the project, upon completion, will likely become one of the largest ports The Arabian Gulf, where its primary production capacity ranges between 45-20 million tons annually.
It is considered a strategic project linking the East to Europe through Iraq, Turkey and Syria with the so-called dry canal – as for what was put forward about the project’s cost, it was $ 5.5 billion.
The capacity is 99 million tons annually
the number of commercial berths is 90
The number of oil berths is 6, with a capacity of 25 million containers
It was supposed to be the largest port overlooking the Arabian Gulf
It was planned to be one of the 10 largest ports in the world, and there was negotiation with the company implementing the large Faw port project, in order to complete it by borrowing, because the government did not have the necessary cost.
So.
The Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi said in published statements that there is a real problem called the port of Faw, and it has been traded for 17 years, indicating that there are countries neighboring Iraq working to establish infrastructure to build ports that may threaten the Iraqi situation.
At a time when the government cannot in Baghdad
Paying the salaries of employees working in various sectors of the state due to mismanagement, thefts, and failure to organize resources. Will this government be able to complete work on the Faw port project? Will this project see the light in the future?
The question remains, if we carefully researched the amount of money spent during the past ten years on the port of Faw?
In conclusion, what was previously mentioned was a simple presentation of a group of problems facing Basra Governorate
In particular, and Iraq in general, will we soon witness a real desire to pay attention to this province and address this corruption that has become threatening Iraq to its core !!
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