File photo used for representation.
Qatari ports have delivered impressive performance in the first eight months of this year. The ports have handled 892,525 containers during January- August period of 2019, showing that the Qatar’s maritime sector is well prepared to meet the demand of Qatar’s growing economy.
During the eight-month period, a total of 2,524 ships called at Hamad Port, Doha Port and Ruwais Port, making it a busy season for country’s maritime sector. These ports handled 277,600 tonnes of general cargo during the eight months, according to Mwani Qatar.
The strong performance by the ports in the first eight months signals that Qatar’s maritime sector is expected to the end the current year on a very successful note. Container, livestock, vehicles and other cargo movement is expected to remain very strong in the last four months of this year as the last months are considered very busy because of increase in economic activities in the country.
The all-round performance by ports in the first eight months comes after an impressive growth in the port sector in the first half of this year. These ports handled 218,330 tonnes of building materials in January-June period of this year, compared to 177,000 tonnes in the same period last year, showing a growth of around 24 percent.
The ports received around 661,331 containers in the first half of 2019, which is around 2.5 percent more than the same period in the same period of last year.
During the first six months, 1,828 ships called at Hamad Port, Doha Port and Ruwais Port. The ports handled 360,644 tonnes of general cargo, 33,537 units of vehicles and 434,982 livestock during the period.
It was successful cruise season as 100,077 passengers came to Qatar from several cruise ships during the first six months of this year.
The strong half-yearly performance by maritime sector followed an all round performance by the ports in the first quarter of this year.
The ports handled 110,938 tonnes of building materials during the first quarter, reflecting 37 percent growth, compared to the same quarter last year.
The ports received 321,345 containers during the first quarter of 2019, registering 3 percent increase over the same period of 2018.
The number of cruise passengers also surged as Doha Port witnessed the arrival of 89,188 passengers during the quarter, showing a massive growth of 99 percent compared to the first quarter of last year.
The ports handled 17,141 units of vehicles while 227,554 tonnes of general cargo during the first quarter. The ports handled 235,053 livestock during the quarter. A total of 958 ships called at these ports during the first quarter of 2019.
Qatar’s port delivered an impressive performance in 2018. The ports had achieved highest annual performance in containers, vessels and livestock in 2018. The ports received 4,781 vessels and handled 1.34 million containers during the year. The ports also handled 1.4m tonnes of general cargo; 71,173 vehicles; 324,248 tonnes of building materials and 957,487 heads of livestock in 2018.
