Qatar’s ports have delivered an impressive performance last year with all round growth in all the segments. The ports in the country achieved highest annual performance in containers, vessels and livestock segments in 2018.
The ports received 4,781 vessels and handled 1.34 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) containers during the year. The ports also handled 1.4 million tonnes of general cargo; 71,173 vehicles; 324,248 tonnes of building materials and 957,487 heads of livestock in 2018.
“Mwani Qatar continued to break record highs in 2018, maintaining excellent growth throughout the year, achieving its highest annual performance in containers, vessels & livestock, which recorded an annual growth of 70 percent, 24 percent and 12 percent respectively, supported by 28 direct shipping lines,” said Mwani Qatar in a tweet.
Hamad Port, the largest port in the Middle East, led from the front in boosting Qatar maritime sector as it occupied the lion’s share in the overall port traffic.
According to Qterminals, Hamad Port handled around 1.33 million TEU containers, over 1 million tonnes of break bulk cargo, over 255,000 of bulk cargo, over 68,000 vehicles and over 400,000 heads of livestock during January to December in 2018.
A total of 1592 vessels called at Hamad Port, last year. Qterminals was set up by Qatar Navigation (Milaha) and Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) to manage the port.
Direct services to Hamad Port in recent times have reduced long waiting periods for consignees to receive their goods. Mwani Qatar has inked agreements with a number of local, regional and international players to strengthen Hamad Port’s status in the region. Hamad Port is already making a paradigm shift in Qatar’s economic diversification and competitiveness, import and re-export of goods.
Since commencing operations in December 2016, Hamad Port has modernised the way Qatar handles imports and exports and has helped in facilitating the growth and diversification of the country’s economy. It has acquired 28 percent share in the volume of trade in the Middle East.
