The Minister of Transport and Communications and Board Chairman of Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar), H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, witnessing the signing agreement by Mwani Qatar CEO Captain Abdullah Al Khanji (right) and Executive Chairman,
Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) has signed a container services agreement with the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to use Hamad Port as a regional hub to manage transshipments for up to 150,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) per year, growing to one million TEUs by 2023.
Minister of Transport and Communications and Board Chairman of Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar), H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, yesterday witnessed the signing of the agreement in a ceremony held at the headquarters of Ministry of Transport and Communications yesterday.
As per the agreement, MSC, starting from January 2020, will use Hamad Port as a regional hub to manage transshipments for up to 150,000 TEUs per year, growing to one million TEUs by 2023.
“The agreement between ‘Mwani Qatar’ and MSC is part of the Ministry of Transport and Communications’ strategic plan to transform Qatar into a vibrant regional trading hub in the region,” said the Minister adding that the transshipment operations are of the added value services that the world’s hub ports seek to increase by attracting regular international shipping routes.
He said that the agreement also enhances the competitiveness of Qatar and Hamad Port on the regional and international maritime transport map, as it will help attract more trans-shipment containers as well as encourage more international shipping lines to add Hamad Port to their regional routes and sign similar agreements in the future.
Hamad Port has been able, in a short period, to occupy a distinguished position among the ports of the region in the volume of container and cargo handling. The annual turnover of Hamad Port is one of the highest compared to neighboring ports. It is also the second largest port in the region in terms of capacity at a rate of 7.5 million containers annually,” said the Minister
Commenting on the agreement, Mwani Qatar CEO Captain Abdullah Al Khanji said: “We are delighted to sign this agreement with MSC, which is an important in achieveing our goals to transform Qatar into a vibrant regional trading hub in the region.”
He explained that the agreement will enable Hamad Port to become a transit station where the transport, loading and unloading of containers or cargo belonging to MSC will take place regionally, which their final destination will be to another port outside the State of Qatar.
