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QATAR OPENS NEW MARITIME GATEWAY DEFYING THE ECONOMIC BLOCKADE IMPOSED BY THE SAUDI ARABIALED BLOC IN THE GCC REGION, QATAR HAS FORMALLY INAUGURATED THE NEW PORT PROJECT (HAMAD PORT) AT UMM AL HOUL, LOCATED SOUTH OF DOHA, DURING A COLOURFUL CEREMONY IN SEPTEMBER 2017.
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ith Qatar witnessing rapid developments since the start of the decade, the existing port, which is in the middle of Doha, has become an obstacle to these activities and the government decided to construct a new port to ease pressure on it. The port has been in partial operation since late 2015, when it began catering to vessels carrying roll-on/roll-off cargo, livestock and heavy equipment. However, the facility is now able to accommodate large container ships for the first time. It is scheduled for completion in 2020. The new port is Qatar’s largest access to the sea and is a gateway to more than 150 destinations around the world that will provide the country with complete independence in its import and export of goods to various continents. The port is the newest among the six ports extending along the country’s coasts, the others being Doha, Mesaieed, Haloul, Ras Laffan and Ruwais. The port is the biggest in the Middle East and also the largest greenfield seaport in the world and has the capacity to receive all types of ships
“THE OPENING OF THE PORT WILL NOW BRING FURTHER FOOD SECURITY AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION IN LINE WITH QATAR NATIONAL VISION 2030, A PROJECT THAT AIMS AT BOOSTING THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC DIVERSITY.”
HE JASSIM BIN SAIF AL SULAITI MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS STATE OF QATAR
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and vessels of various sizes and weights. The port covers a total area of 26.5 sq km and has been built at a cost of QR26.94 billion ($7.4 billion). It has a general cargo terminal with a capacity of 1.7 MTPA and a grain plant with a capacity of 1 MTPA, a station for the reception of livestock, a station for coastal security vessels, a customs inspection area, a 110-metre observation tower, a ship inspection platform, multiple marine facilities and administrative buildings and a number of other facilities such as warehouses, mosques, restrooms and a medical facility. Equipped with the latest equipment and machines, the loading and handling of trucks is very fast as the container is unloaded and delivered to the importer in only 20 minutes, with an average of 30 containers per hour. CATALYST FOR EXPORTS As a major gateway to Qatar and a significant investment in the country’s future, the new port will serve the expanding trade needs of Qatar, supporting key objectives set forward in the Qatar National Vision 2030 and acting as a catalyst for export industry development.
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The new Hamad Port will house a new base for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, built offshore and providing berthing for Qatar’s Navy and visiting naval vessels from around the world. The base will offer technical support, comprehensive logistics facilities, material support accommodation and recreational services. The Qatar Economic Zone 3, a self-contained development with industrial and residential facilities, will also be located adjacent to the new port. Customs and other entities provide facilitations to importers. The total capacity of the port is about 7.6 million containers, including two million containers per year within the first phase of operation of the port. During the first half of 2017 Qatar ports received up to 470,000 tons of general cargo, around 407,000 tons of livestock, 449,000 tons of building materials and more than 400,000 tons of equipment and vehicles. The new routes connect Qatar’s ports to Sohar and Salalah in Oman, Shuwaikh in Kuwait, Karachi in Pakistan, Izmir in Turkey, and the Mundra and Nava Shiva ports in India. The officials of Hamad Port have also signed a contract for the design and construction of food security facilities at the port on an area of 53 hectares at a cost of QR1.6 billion. GUARANTEEING FOOD SECURITY Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti said that Hamad Port’s food security warehouses project will provide a two-year stock of manufactured and stored goods for three million people. He pointed out that the signed contract is related to the first phase of 26 months, while the second phase, which is no less important, is the operational phase through the issuance of tenders for the private sector and other phases related to food security. Qatari companies will set up factories in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, among other countries, which will lead to greater
self-sufficiency. “The opening of the port will now bring further food security and economic diversification in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, a project that aims at boosting the country’s economic diversity,” the minister told the media after the inaugural ceremony. According to the minister, Hamad Port was strategically located to handle the expanding trade in the Gulf and beyond, into the hinterland of Qatar and the neighbouring GCC countries. The facilities will feature cutting-edge technology and associated systems that will cater to all types of vessels, cargo handling and clearance, and throughput rates that will set the facility apart from the region’s existing ports. Environmental protection strategies – sustainable resource use, waste management and sustainability certification for buildings – will ensure the port achieves a sustainable balance between economic growth, social development and environmental protection, he added. REDUCTION IN COSTS Interestingly, the shipping costs, which before
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the blockade was QR6,188 ($1,700) for a 40-foot container, have come down to QR4,732 ($1,300) – a reduction of 31% – with the help of operations at Hamad Port. Qatar immediately launched new sealines between Hamad Port and various ports in other countries like Oman, Turkey and many other nations in East Asia to help in Qatari imports from around the globe. The port has recorded significant milestones, regionally and internationally, in quite a short period of time. It has played a key role in breaking the blockade by receiving 48,873 containers, 80,275 tons of general cargo, 4,922 vehicles and machinery, 74,148 head of livestock and some 7,897 tons of building materials last July. The first direct service between Hamad Port and Sohar Port in Oman was inaugurated on June 11 and directly linked with Salalah Port on June 23. In an interview with a local English daily in Qatar, Neville Bissett, Chief Executive of QTerminals, the operator of Hamad Port, disclosed that many main line operators and the largest shipping companies in the world have evinced interest in starting direct services to
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Hamad Port, while others have already started or were expanding their existing routes. “The new routes from Hamad Port include additional services from China, the Far East and Bangladesh, as well as increasing services from established routes such as India, Pakistan, Oman, and the Mediterranean,” he said and added that the sectors that were contributing most to volume included machinery, technical and construction material, large electrical goods, vehicles and electronic equipment. NEW LINES A week after its formal inauguration, the Swissbased Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Taiwan’s Yang Ming Transport Corporation both opened new weekly lines to Hamad Port. Four ships, each with a capacity to accommodate 6,000 containers, including 400 reefer containers, have begun operating on MSC’s new East Mediterranean Service, which runs between ports in Turkey, Greece, India, Oman and Qatar. Yang Ming, meanwhile, launched its China Gulf Express Service with a single vessel that can also carry 6000 containers. The ship’s route takes in Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen and Shekou ports in China, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Port Klang (Malaysia) and Hamad Port. Doha-based maritime logistics player Milaha
too announced new services between Qatar and various international ports. One such initiative, the Pakistan Qatar Express Service, was launched on August 27, with the first vessel arriving at Hamad Port from Karachi on September 11. The route has a relatively
“THE NEW ROUTES FROM HAMAD PORT INCLUDE ADDITIONAL SERVICES FROM CHINA, FAR EAST AND BANGLADESH AS WELL AS INCREASING SERVICES FROM ESTABLISHED ROUTES SUCH AS INDIA, PAKISTAN, OMAN, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN.”
NEVILLE BISSETT CHIEF EXECUTIVE QTERMINALS
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short transit time of four days and is served by two 1,700 TEU vessels, dedicated largely to the transportation of perishable items and foodstuffs. A service connecting the Qatari ports of Mesaieed and Hamad with Karachi and the Indian port of Mundra is also expected to become operational in the near future. Milaha also confirmed that an ad hoc service it had been running between Hamad Port and the Port of Izmir in Turkey would be regularised to once every 20-25 days. One vessel with a capacity of more than 5,000 tons now services the 11-day route, which includes temperature-controlled cargo and breakbulk cargo. The opening of new international routes suggest that Milaha is putting this strategy into action, while Hamad Port’s progress towards full operation could also help the company achieve a turnaround over the medium term. In addition, Milaha stands to benefit in the near term from higher earnings across the shipping industry, a trend that should also support Qatar’s broader maritime trade ambitions. STRONG PERFORMANCE Hamad Port saw a huge 44% year-on-year increase in cargo movement in September 2017, while a 120% rise was seen in tonnage in the same month. The port harboured 150 vessels in September compared to 104 vessels in the same month in 2016, while net tonnage at the port rose to 143,750 tonnes in September 2017 against 65,470 tonnes in September 2016. The year-on-year growth in cargo traffic has continued every month after the siege was imposed on June 5 by the blockading countries. In August, vessel movement increased by 47% as 162 vessels harboured at the port compared to 110 vessels in the same month in 2016. Net tonnage at the port has jumped by around 111% to 129,630 tonnes in August last year from 61,520 tonnes in the same month in 2016. Similarly, 136 vessels harboured at the port in July last year compared to 105 vessels in the same month in 2016, showing a year-on-year rise of around 30%. Net tonnage also surged by 137%, to 123,100, in July last year from 71,040 tonnes in the same month in 2016