Iraq aims to sell shares to the public in the $1.3 billion Grand Faw container port first proposed in 2011 before falling oil prices crimped the government’s ability to support the project on its own. The local government in Basra in southern Iraq where the port is planned will seek permission in the next few days from the central government to set up a holding company to sell the shares, Sabah Al-Bazooni, head of the Basra provincial council, said in an interview. Iraq has banned the holding company structure since the days of the late toppled leader Saddam Hussein. Iraq originally proposed Grand Faw in 2011 for $17 billion, all covered by the government and including an oil export platform. Since then, Brent crude prices have dropped more than 70 percent, leaving the government with a budget deficit estimated at 24 trillion dinars ($20 billion) for next year. The […]