Latest Middle East News

Source: GulfNews

Chinese company wins first of 21 contracts as first phase of project is set to be completed in 2016.

Manama: Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Crown Prince of Qatar has laid the foundation stone for the first phase of the 25.6 billion riyal (Dh25.7 billion) New Doha Port in Mesaieed.

The project is targeted for completion in 2016, Qatari officials said.

The port will be completed in three phases. The second phase will start in 2020 while the third is scheduled in 2030.

Upon completion, the 26.5 square kilometre New Doha Port will have a cargo handling capacity of 6 million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) or around 14 times its current capacity, officials said.

The port will be equipped to handle the world’s largest ships and will be among the largest deepwater ports in the world, a Gulf Times report said yesterday.

Key driver

The project will be a key driver of the country’s economy, contributing significantly to its GDP and will provide further impetus to Qatar’s development.

The economic zones being set up and growth of the Mesaieed Industrial City, around 40km south of Doha, will stand to benefit from the port project.

Congestion in the port of Doha will be eased when the new port becomes operational.

Qatar Civil Aviation Authority chairman and head of the project’s steering committee, Abdul Aziz Mohammad Al Nuaimi, earlier said the first phase of the project will include the digging of a canal, building of 2.7km wave breakers and removal of 3 million cubic metres of rock and sand.

A Chinese company won the project’s first contract. The 3.2 billion riyal contract involves the digging of the port’s dockyard to a depth of 17 metres and building of the port quays, The Peninsula quoted Al Nuaimi as saying.

Al Nuaimi said local companies would participate in carrying out more than 50 per cent of the 21 projects at the port that would create 20,000 jobs.

At the stone-laying ceremony, Al Nuaimi quoted Qatari Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani as saying that comprehensive development of the country was the key to achieving progress and prosperity for citizens.

This, he said, represented the base of Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to turn Qatar into a developed country or one that could achieve sustainable development at all levels.

He said Qatar moved steadfastly, realising its vision in a way that makes the country stand out from other states. This has also helped Qatar gain the trust and confidence of the international community and win the rights to host the much coveted Fifa World Cup 2022, he said.

Rail link

In a presentation, project manager Nabeel Al Buainain said there were plans to provide a rail link between the port and New Doha International Airport.