*MoU signed to find joint employment and investment opportunities
*2nd phase of Hamad Port expansion to be announced this year: Sulaiti
Santhosh Chandran
DOHA
QTerminals, which operates Hamad Port, Qatar's gateway to the world trade, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). The MoU aims to create joint employment opportunities and investments across the world.
CHEC is a leading provider of services in Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC), Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), and Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for both public and private sectors. Its diverse infrastructure portfolio includes marine engineering, dredging and reclamation, roads and bridges, railways, airports, municipal works, environmental and hydraulic engineering, power plant and energy, equipment assembly and resource exploration.
The signing of the MoU comes as part of Hamad Port's ongoing initiatives to expand its operations network by identifying new locations and increasing investments.
Under the MoU, the two sides will be working on mechanisms concerning funding, designing, construction, operation and management of the opportunities to be discussed and agreed upon later.
The MoU was signed by Chief Executive Officer of QTerminals Neville Bissett and President of CHEC Tang Qiaoliang in the presence of Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim bin Saif Ahmed al Sulaiti and Chinese Ambassador to Qatar HE Li Chen.
Speaking to the media on the occasion, Sulaiti said the MoU aims at creating joint employment opportunities and investments between the two sides around the world.
"The new cooperation will further boost Qatar's ranking worldwide and open up new horizons for growth and development in all sectors," he said.
On the expansion of Hamad Port, Sulaiti said the second phase would be announced before the end of this year, adding its implementation would begin early next year.
"Hamad Port serves as a big gateway for increasing international trade traffic. This long-term agreement aims to identify and invest in potential maritime investment opportunities around the world. It will also support China's 'One Belt, One Road' initiative and the Qatar National Vision 2030," Bissett said.
QTerminals is a terminal operating company jointly established by Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) and Qatar Navigation (Milaha) to provide container, general cargo, RORO, livestock and offshore supply services in Phase 1 of Hamad Port.