Hamad Port is

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

's main seaport, located south of

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

in the Umm Al-Houl area. Construction of the port began in 2010; it became operational in December 2016. It was officially opened in September 2017, and is expected to become fully operational by 2020. Capable of handling up to 7.8 million tonnes of products annually, the bulk of trade which passes through the port consists of food and building materials.

History

First unveiled in June 2007, construction of the port began in June 2010. Umm Al-Houl, an area south of the capital

and near to industrial city Mesaieed, was selected as the location for the port. Costs of the new port were reported to be $7.4 bn. The first shipment to Hamad Port was made in July 2015 by the

heavy-lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be transported by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be fl ...

''Zhen Hua 10'', containing cranes that were planned to be used to unload goods. Commercial operations at the port were officially launched in December 2015. It was announced that the port would be operational in December 2016. In November 2016, German company

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

signed a $12.4 mn energy deal to provide power to Hamad Port. An expansion of the port was announced in June 2017, with approximately $550 mn worth of contracts being rewarded. The port is part of the Maritime

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

that runs from the Chinese coast to the south via the southern tip of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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, from there through the Red Sea via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

with its rail connections to

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, Eastern Europe and the

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Operations during the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis

At the onset of the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, which began on June 5, much of the traffic to Hamad Port was put to a stop due to the banning of Qatar-flagged ships from seaports in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. This prompted the port authority to set up new direct shipping routes, which as of June 2017, included

-based

Mundra Port Mundra Port is India's first private port, largest Containerization, container List of ports in India, port in India and largest commercial port, located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Kutch near Mundra, Kutch district, Gujarat. Formerly ...

and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, and

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

's Sohar Port. Port officials stated that in June 2017, the first month of the crisis, the port received 212 ships. According to a remark made by a port official in July 2017, the only substantial change that occurred to the port's operation was the changing of transit port from UAE's Jebel Ali Port to two ports in Oman. In September 2017, two new maritime shipping lines were launched from the port to enhance the country's trading connections with other ports in Malaysia, China, Turkey, India and Greece.

Facilities

Covering an area of 26km², the port is planned to have livestock, vehicle and general terminals, an offshore supply depot, a facility for the Qatari coast guards, and a grain facility. The facility for the Qatari coast guards consists of a 4.5km² offshore naval base.

Transport

Currently, the elevated Hamad Port Metro Station is under construction, having been launched during Phase 2B. Once completed, it will be part of

Doha Metro The Doha Metro (, ''Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Mitru ad-Dawha'') is a rapid transit system in the Doha Metropolitan Area of Qatar's capital city Doha, which became operational on 8 May 2019. It has three lines with an approximate overal ...

's Red Line South.

References

{{coord, 25.015, 51.602, type:landmark_region:QA_dim:5000, display=title Ports and harbours of Qatar Transport in Qatar Buildings and structures in Qatar