File picture used for representation
Hamad Port, the largest port in the Middle East, has potential to transform Qatar into a regional and international trade and logistics hub, said a senior official of Milaha.
“Hamad Port has the potential to transform Qatar into a regional and international trade and logistics hub. This transformation will not only attract investments and enable economic growth, but will also increase the efficiency of operations for companies with core interests in maritime transportation and logistics like ours,” said Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai, President and CEO, Milaha in an interview to World Maritime News.
Talking about the unjust siege imposed on Qatar by the blockading countries, he said the prompt actions mitigated the impact on business and trade. The authorities opened the new shipping routes which boosted the pace of trade.
“Since the beginning of the crisis, we took quick measures to mitigate the impact of the ban and ensure that Qatar remains open for business and trade.
The first of those measures was immediately moving our trans-shipment hub to Sohar Port in Oman,” he said.
“This was shortly followed by the launch of our Oman-Qatar service, the ramping up of our India service, the setting up of our in-country logistics operations in Oman, and most recently, the launch of our Kuwait, Turkey, and Pakistan services for container, temperature-controlled, and break-bulk cargo,” he added.
Milaha has been very busy over the recent period with the launching of new maritime transport services between Qatar and India, Pakistan, Kuwait, Oman, and Turkey.
“Despite the complexity of the situation and the difficulty of establishing new routes at the same speed we did, Milaha now has direct maritime shipping services between Qatar and six other regional and international ports,” he said.
“And we have proven ourselves as a reliable partner that is able to use its international outreach and diverse portfolio to innovate tailor-made, flexible solutions to clients even and especially in such exceptional circumstances,” he added.
He said Milaha stands to benefit from Hamad Port in terms of being able to provide faster and more efficient services to our clients and partners across the supply chain.
“The transition to a deepwater port also brings opportunities for our container shipping unit to possibly optimise its fleet and further expand its network. And of course, as a 49 percent shareholder in QTerminals, which will manage the core operations of the port, Milaha will also benefit from the growth of Hamad Port,” he added.
He said that Milaha is focused on driving forward its long-term strategy which includes reducing structural costs, enhancing our service offering, and developing new sources of revenue.
