Mwani Qatar will take a controlling 51% stake and Milaha the remaining 49% in QTerminals to manage Hamad Port, a 28sq km greenfield project rapidly expanding south of the Qatari capital Doha.
QTerminals will manage operations as an independent company with its own board of directors, executives and staff.
Hamad Port, connected to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries through a road and rail network, is set to transform Qatari shipping once it is complete in 2020.
Already running at about one third capacity, it will eventually be home to three highly automated container terminals with a combined annual capacity of 7m teu and at least eight super post-panamax gantry cranes. The port, which is already handling livestock imports, will also have a multi-use ro-ro, general cargo and bulk terminals, an offshore supply base and Coast Guard and Qatari Emiri Naval Force bases.
A customs inspection area for rapid cargo clearance, a “uniquely designed”110m tall port control tower, a ship inspection platform and multiple maritime facilities, in addition to other utilities such as storage units, mosques, rest areas, medical clinics and offices are also taking shape.
The QTerminals deal was signed Tuesday by Mwani Qatar ceo, Capt. Abdulla Al Khanji and Milaha president and ceo Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai.
Qatar’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, said the partnership would help drive Hamad Port’s ambition to become a regional commercial hub as part of the kingdom’s ambitious Qatar National Vision 2030.
“This strategic partnership reaps the benefits of several years of strong collaboration and ties between Mwani Qatar and Milaha, which have brought about this common plan for managing Hamad Port, one of the country’s vital megaprojects and which will serve as Qatar’s gateway to world trade,” Al Sulaiti said.
The Minister said the Mwani Qatar-Milaha partnership was a role model for the Qatari private sector to contribute to transportation projects, going beyond prevalent partnerships in building and construction.
“We are confident the new company, established collaboratively by two of Qatar’s leading corporations, will contribute to leveraging the country’s competitiveness among world economies,” he added.
Milaha chairman, Sheikh Ali bin Jassim bin Mohammad Al-Thani, said Hamad Port shaped as a key contributor in Qatar’s economic diversification program.
“Our partnership with Mwani Qatar is a continuation of our longstanding relationship, which will continue to work toward achieving Qatar’s vision of becoming a global trade and logistics hub.”
“Hamad Port is one the world’s largest port development projects. It will herald a new era of uniqueness and pioneering in the area of commercial port development in Qatar and the wider region.”
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