Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti; CEO of Mwani Qatar, Capt. Abdullah Al Khanji, and other officials during the event.
Doha: In a ceremony attended by Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, The Business Year presented an award to recognise Hamad Port as ‘Economic Diversification Project of the Year’. The ceremony was also attended by Capt. Abdullah Al Khanji, CEO of Mwani Qatar and Eng. Nabil AlKhaldi, Executive Director of Hamad Port Project.
“Hamad Port’s strong capabilities, modern facilities, and advanced systems are leading its position as the gateway to Qatar and a transshipment and a re-export hub in the region, increasing the volume of trade between Qatar and the rest of the world. Last year, Hamad Port achieved a record container volume for the fourth straight year in a row with transshipment volumes rising by 106 percent. The increase in transshipments is an important sign of the port’s role in the region. 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,” stated the Minister.
During the event held at the Ministry, Nataly Almanza, Country Director of The Business Year referred to the reasons behind this recognition: “We at The Business Year have been first-hand witnesses to the development of this project since our arrival in the country. Year 2021 will be the year in which Hamad Port becomes operational at full capacitcy; the delay caused by 2020 has been minimum. Container Terminal 2’s inauguration is the big milestone of the year that we are all expecting to occur. Phase II of Hamad Port will be a great improvement and the final stage of a 10-year trip, but, at the same time, will only be the beginning.”
According to WTO, economic diversification happens when factors of production are moved within and across different sectors towards higher productivity uses, which is directly linked to structural transformation and trade diversification. In the case of Hamad Port, this comes in the form of the efficient management of goods and services transportation, the focus on export growth, FDI attraction and on increasing the range of goods and services exported. The Umm Al-Houl Special Economic Zone, situated close to Hamad Port, is one of several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Qatar that encourage entrepreneurship and help foster growth among small and medium-sized enterprises. Hamad Port Project has simply helped Qatar to successfully overcome the dominance of natural resources and the shackles of geography. The impact of Hamad Port Project also comes in the form of affecting the day-to-day business operations and investment decisions in Qatar by providing appropriate incentive frameworks, investment and policy reforms aimed at slashing trade costs, and effective policies to support the reallocation of some of Qatar’s resources towards new activities. This was the key to achieving Qatar’s economic independence and diversification. The Hamad Port Project is being undertaken to attract trade and industrialization to diversify the economy in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. The services and facilities at Hamad Port have encouraged shipping lines to call their mainline services to Hamad Port directly.
The 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. Hamad Port is instrumental in the efficient shipping of products that companies handle for clients.
