Hamad Port planning multiple terminals to expand capacity, says Mwani Qatar report

With direct services now connecting to Qatar, the global shipping industry has shown confidence in the country’s commitment to develop its ports and have a leading presence in the region, Mwani Qatar says.

Hamad Port, which has set a new record in container volume for the fourth straight year in a row with transshipment volumes surging 19.6% in 2020, is planning multiple terminals to expand container handling capacity as it seeks to play a “more significant” role in the country’s economy, according to Mwani Qatar. Moreover, with direct services now connecting to Qatar, the global shipping industry has shown confidence in the country’s commitment to develop its ports and have a leading presence in the region, Mwani Qatar said in its 2020 annual report, which was released on Thursday. “We expect that this recovery will contribute to reducing the impact of the pandemic on the maritime transport sector in the coming years and support the return of the sector’s growth to its previous levels,” Mwani Qatar said. Mwani Qatar said it is optimistic about this year in the light of expectations of the global economy recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hamad Port is currently handling more than 24 direct services of all the major global shipping lines every week. These direct mainline services have opened various new trade routes and opportunities to bolster the growth of trade and industry in Qatar. “Multiple container terminals at Hamad Port have been planned to facilitate the expansion of container handling capacity, commensurate with the growing traffic of cargo demand,” the report said, expressing that it looks forward to playing an “even more significant” part in supporting the prosperity of Qatar in 2021 and beyond. A key change within the Hamad Port this year was the initial operations of the container terminal 2 (CT2), which is poised to enhance Qatar’s competitiveness regionally and globally. Highlighting that the commencing of CT2 is another milestone added to Hamad Port’s record of achievements, it said the additional 624m of quayside with 380,000sqm of storage facilities, remote-controlled quay cranes, and environmentally friendly RTGs and tractors have boosted CT2’s huge potential, modern facilities, and advanced systems for increasing Qatar’s trade with the world. “The development of CT2 is to ensure the sustainable growth of local trade and to improve the port’s competitiveness by transforming it into a regional transshipment hub,” it said. The annual report said 2020 has been another successful year for Mwani Qatar ports despite the challenges of a year impacted by the global pandemic. The ports not only maintained their strong performance during last year but ended 2020 with one of the busiest months in its history, the most active quarter, and a record container volume for the full year. Nearly 1.5mn TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) were handled in 2020, 8% up from 2019 with transshipment volumes rising 19.6% to 414,085 TEUs compared to 346,244 TEUs in 2019. General and bulk cargo volumes grew 66% year-on-year to more than 1.5mn tonnes. The ports also handled over 453,000 head of livestock and more than 357,000 tonnes of building materials and received 3,310 ships and more than 61,000 units of RORO. “The achieved figures confirm the pivotal role that Hamad Port plays in promoting domestic and international trade thanks to the close relationship it has built with shipping companies and actors in this sector around the world,” it said.