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Asif Iqbal
Doha
The Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani on Tuesday inaugurated the $7.4 billion Hamad Port at Umm Al Houl much ahead of schedule.
The Emir placed the logo of Hamad Port on the designated area, marking the official opening of the port.
The opening of the port, which was part of a wider plan to achieve food security and economic diversification in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, means larger container ships can come directly to Doha.
The inauguration ceremony started with the playing of the national anthem followed by a show entitled"the bird of goodness" that embodies the story of Qatar's prosperity and development.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim bin Saif al Sulaiti said the port was not only completed much ahead of its schedule and but also well below the set budget.
"This giant gateway carries the name of the Father Emir HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, who in our memory and that of the world's, will be synonymous with the maker of miracles in this land."
The minister said this would not have been achieved without the directives and encouragement from the Emir and the support of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani.
He said the Emir's vision foresaw all the hard possibilities of the future and also a motivator to face all challenges.
"Today, we are stronger and more determined with even more options at hand. We do not wait for the sea to calm ” we learn how to sail through the storm," he said.
Sulaiti said the opening of the Hamad Port has proven beyond any doubt how much flexible the country is and how steadfast it is when comes to facing challenges without compromising on values, traditions and aspirations.
"The opening of the Hamad Port gives the country all the reasons to keep its head up, given the amount of difficulties it has overcome and the challenges it has faced," he said, adding that the country cannot live on the margins of life.
Hamad Port has played a very important role by providing direct marine shipping routes to key regional and world seaports in a short time.
At the end of the ceremony, a performance depicting the story of ancestors practising fishing and the continued efforts by the succeeding generations to achieve more progress and prosperity for the country was put up.
Sulaiti said this port will contribute to increasing trade volume between Qatar and the world markets, creating job opportunities for youth, raising living standards in addition to improving Qatar's competitiveness by transforming it into a regional business centre, which, in turn, will ensure sustainable development for generations to come.
Hamad Port is the largest of its kind in the Middle East and has the capacity to receive all types of ships and vessels of various sizes and weights. Over 150 million man-hours were spent at the port without any incident. The project involved 22,000 workers at peak construction times.
The port is equipped with world-class technology that ensures speedy clearance of transactions related to goods and offers accurate inspection without any human assistance, thus putting Hamad Port among the world's largest ports equipped with technology that ensures fast and efficient service of containers and cargo.
Environment has also been taken into consideration at the Hamad Port project. Plants, birds and aquatic organisms have been taken care of and carefully reintroduced. In recognition of this, Hamad Port won the largest smart and green-friendly project award at the Middle East level.
Sulaiti said the Hamad Port provides a role model for how the directives of HH the Emir are being executed in supporting the private sector and promoting its contribution to the development process countrywide.
The private sector took over 60 percent of the value of all tenders announced for the execution of this mega project, which exceeds QR10 billion.
According to Sulaiti, the private sector will have a major portion of the construction works of the second phase of the port with projects worth QR5 billion to be completed and delivered between 2020 and 2021.
"The private sector's participation has gone beyond the normal convention of construction and building, to its participation in port operations through operations management company QTerminals," Sulaiti added.
