Qatar- Hamad Port achieves 5 million containers milestone

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Hamad Port, Qatar's gateway to the world, has reached a milestone by hitting five million containers mark. Mwani Qatar yesterday announced that Hamad Port has handled container volume of over 5 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) since the start of operations. 'This milestone reflects positively on the growth of the port, which is steadily making its way to becoming one of the most efficient & competitive ports in the region, Mwani Qatar said on its Twitter handle. The terminal operating company providing services to Hamad Port, Qterminals, also said on its Twitter account that it is proud to announce the new milestone of handling over 5 million TEUs since the start of the operations of Hamad Port. Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had patronised the official inauguration of Hamad Port in Umm Al Houl in September 2017 while the port started its full operations in December 2016. In August 2019, Hamad Port had been ranked among world's top 120 container ports. Hamad Port had been placed at number 114 in top 120 container ports ranking of 2018. The capacity of Hamad Port will reach 7.5 million TEUs annually on completion of all construction phases. Hamad Port has a uniquely-designed port control tower at a height of 110 metres, a customs inspection area for rapid cargo clearance, a ship inspection platform and multiple maritime facilities, in addition to other utilities such as storage units, mosques, rest areas, medical clinics and the offices required for port operation. In December last year, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani also visited the port. H E the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, during his visit, inaugurated the initial operation of Hamad Port's Container Terminal 2, which is equipped with the latest environment-friendly technological equipment to meet the needs and requirements of shipping line operators and would increase the port's capacity by about three million containers per year. In September 2019, Hamad Port had set a new Guinness World Record as the deepest artificial basin ever made on Earth. Hamad Port's basin is 4km long, 700 metres wide and 17 metres deep. Mwani Qatar had signed a container services agreement in November 2019 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.MENAFN12042021000063011010ID1101899548