Qatar celebrates arrival of first commercial ship at new Hamad Port

Qatar ministers gathered at the country’s new port yesterday to welcome its very first ship, the heavy load carrier Zhen Hua 10.

The vessel sailed into the Hamad Port (formerly new port project) laden with 12 cranes that will be used to unload goods from ships using the new facility.

The $7.4 billion (QR27 billion) new port, which is located in Umm Al-Houl near Mesaieed, is set to soft launch by the end of this year. Completion of the first phase is set for the end of 2016.


QNA

Ministers attending the ceremony at the port

It’s hoped that the opening of the port will help to relieve bottlenecks in the construction material supply chain.

The country’s existing port is very congested, and Qatar’s construction industry has been battling high prices for materials, driven in part by restrictions on the volume the current port facilities can handle.

Addressing journalists at the ceremony yesterday, Transport Minister Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti said that the new facility would significantly increase Qatar’s opportunities for trade: