The University of Basrah opened a boat marina in the karmat Ali Colleges Complex, which connects the Al-Ashar area to the university’s location in the Karma Ali area.
Professor Dr. Saad Shaheen Hammadi stated through his speech that the idea of ​​the anchorage is to relieve the bottlenecks occurring in the streets of Basra to ensure the timely arrival of our university staff to the Karmat Ali complex.
For his part, the project manager, Dr. Labeed Al-Saad, stated, “We were assigned to implement the project in January 2022, and the process of studying the site and determining the work requirements began, the most difficult of which was obtaining the platform to rehabilitate and turn it into a floating platform to receive boats. It was obtained after three months of research as a gift from the Directorate Roads and bridges in Basra Governorate. We then began civil works over a period of nine months, which included the construction of a bridge linking the marina square to the platform to facilitate the access of passengers to and from boats, as well as the construction of the main marina square 40 x 20 m, the gate, the entrance to the marina from the main road, a coastal runway, an area for landing and removing boats, and some other administrative facilities. It is hoped to establish a two- storey restaurant and a coastal sports area in the near future.
Al-Saad added: The purpose of the project is to transport students to and from Al-Ashar to reduce traffic congestion at the entrances to the University of Basrah/ Karmat Ali site. The idea has developed to make river tourist trips to and from Al-Mandhuri Resort and Research Station in Al-Mashab affiliated with the University of Basrah. It is also planned to establish another berth at the agricultural research station. In Al-Haritha, which is also affiliated with the University of Basrah to organize scientific and tourist study trips from the university’s marina/Karmat Ali site. The project may also develop through the work of additional stations in the areas of Al-Maqal, Al-Jazeera, and Shatt Al-Arab to serve students and university staff in these areas.
Al-Saad continued: The operation of this project will be joint between the University of Basra and the Maritime Transport Directorate in Basra, as it is the main operator of navigation in the Shatt al-Arab on the one hand and owns a fleet of modern boats designated for transporting passengers with a very high level of safety managed by crews qualified to work in this field. We also have the desire to Providing the opportunity for owners of private boats (provided they adhere to the safety rules that we impose on them and obtain a license to practice an official profession) to transport students and conduct tourist tours.