Work on the New Port Project at Al Wakrah, Qatar, is rapidly progressing towards completion as the small Gulf nation seeks an alternative to the country’s congested existing port, Doha.
The project consists of a new container port, a naval base, and a special economic zone and is slated for a mid-2016 soft opening and the start of full operations by the end of that year. The $7.4 billion facility will have a depth of 55 feet and is designed to handle over 6 million 20-foot-equivalent units annually in 2020, which is 10 years ahead of the originally planned completion due the Qatari government fast-tracking the project.
The first terminal CT1, will have a capacity of 2 million TEUs when it opens in 2016 and each additional stage will add 2 million TEUs of capacity as they come online in next five years.
With a total port area of 10.2 square miles, the works are a major improvement on the existing port in Doha Bay. “Doha is full to capacity and the road network is the main bottleneck to the import and export of project-related cargoes,” Tim Verdon, program manager, Aecom, said.
“We expect (the) arrival of the ship-to-shore cranes in July, manufactured by ZPMC. The first ship has left Shanghai, with four STS cranes on board, and there will be three deliveries, with (a total of) 12 cranes to be (installed),” said Verdon.
The associated special economic zone, Um Al Houl, will cater to the petrochemicals, building material, maritime, metals, logistics, food processing, automobile, tools, and machinery industries, according to local news reports..
The new zone is one of three being developed by Manateq, a company established by the Qatar ministry of business and trade in 2011. Manateq will allow investors to develop land on the 13 square mile site from the second quarter of 2016. Manateq’s special economic zones will offer zero duties on trade within the Gulf Cooperation Council and low import duties or exemptions for inputs and machinery.
Source: JoC
Source: JoC