MIDDLE EAST • QATAR
Container terminal, Hamad Port
Work is ongoing at the port
Abdulla Al Khanji, ceo, explaining the organisation’s importance to the country’s development.
Hamad Port: focal point of National Vision
As Qatar ramps up its infrastructure programme to achieve its ambitions for the 2022 World Cup and its wider National Vision programme, the importance of the work being carried out by Qatar Port Management Company (Mwani Qatar) cannot be overstated.
Mwani Qatar manages the operations of three ports in Qatar, namely Hamad Port, Doha Port and Al-Ruwais Port. All three facilities are closely tied to the stability of the domestic market and the implementation of the State’s development plans, through ensuring the smooth handling of imports and export and related supplies for both ongoing and future projects.
Mwani Qatar will handle the country’s commercial traffic through Hamad Port and Al-Ruwais Port, and Doha Port will be redeveloped into a cruise port which will contribute to the tourism revenues of the country.
Hamad Port, a 28sq km site built on greenfield land, is to connect Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries through a road and rail network, is set to transform Qatari shipping once it is complete in 2020.
Already running at about one third
capacity, the $7.5bn development will eventually be home to three highly automated container terminals with a combined annual capacity of 7m teu and at least eight super post-panamax gantry cranes. The port, which is already handling livestock imports, will also have a multi-use ro-ro, general cargo and bulk terminals, an offshore supply base and Coast Guard and Qatari Emiri Naval Force bases.
Hamad Port, started operations in December of 2015 and gradual shifting of project and general cargo volumes continued to prepare Doha port for eventual transition of all commercial cargoes.
Complete general cargo operation was shifted to Hamad Port in mid-October last year, followed by container cargoes which were shifted by end-November. There were no more cargo vessels berthed at Doha Port after 1 December and Doha Port is now dedicated for passenger vessels only.
‘Mwani Qatar has set out a clear strategy in order to implement the ambitious plans of the government for promoting the vital transport sector and maximising its contribution to Qatar’s national economy, following the guidelines of Qatar National Vision 2030,’ said Capt.
‘Through prioritizing the continuous improvement of its shipping lines and meeting the needs of its customers, Mwani Qatar hopes to make the country the first port of call for companies operating in the region and beyond.’
Mwani Qatar and shipping and logistics giant Qatar Navigation (Milaha) have formed a new entity to manage the mega port. Mwani Qatar will take a controlling 51% stake and Milaha the remaining 49% in QTerminals to manage Hamad Port. QTerminals will manage operations as an independent company with its own board of directors, executives and staff.
Qatar’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, said the partnership would help drive Hamad Port’s ambition to become a regional commercial hub as part of the kingdom’s ambitious Qatar National Vision 2030.
‘This strategic partnership reaps the benefits of several years of strong collaboration and ties between Mwani Qatar and Milaha, which have brought about this common plan for managing Hamad Port, one of the country’s vital megaprojects and which will serve as Qatar’s gateway to world trade,’ Al Sulaiti said.
Last year Qatari ports received 1,089 cargo vessel calls and 1,225 visits by offshore vessels, handling a total 344,212 container moves of 528,053teu and more than 133,000 tonnes of general cargo.
25-27 September 2017 Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE
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seatrade-maritime.com Seatrade Maritime Review • Quarterly Issue 2 • June 2017 61
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