Qatar will have a total of 1,000 berths for private ships and boats at Al Ruwais, Al Khor, Al Zakhira and Al Wakra harbours in view of the growing demand in the country, a move that will facilitate the private sector to a great extent.
“Berthing locations were decided to be at four harbours which are state owned, operate under the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) and are increasingly frequented by many ship owners,” Nasser Qadar, director of Maritime Transport Licensing and Planning Department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) told reporters in Doha.
A committee, established by HE Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, formed a working group that conducted studies and drafted plans for setting up the berthing slots. Headed by the MoTC, the committee has members from all governmental bodies concerned with the matter.
The project, with a dedicated budget, has been approved and its implementation was commissioned by the MoTC to Mwani Qatar (Qatar Ports Management Company), a leading entity with experience in berthing and harbour development, in accordance with the best internationally-recognised safety and quality standards, Qadar said.
He, however, did not disclose the cost of the project.
Mwani Qatar prepared the integrated planning and technical studies, under the supervision of MoTC, and engineering designs and drawings were approved for nearly 1,000 berths at the four harbours.
"Work is underway to put the project out to public tender, followed by the award of the project, which should be completed in less than a year-and-half," Nabil Alkhaldi, engineering director at Mwani Qatar, said, adding the project is a reflection of the public-private sector partnership policy adopted by the MoTC.
Given the growing number of private ships and boats registered with the ministry, efforts were accelerated to provide solutions to ship and boat owners by allocating them berthing locations, Qadar said.
The project reflects the considerable attention the MoTC pays to providing appropriate and modern facilities with global standards and specifications to meet the needs of ship and boat owners in a way that serves the national economy and contributes to better regulating ship berthing and stevedoring operations, in addition to protecting them from risks in cases of strong storms.
The selection of berthing locations were based on a careful study, Mohamed Saeed al-Mohannadi, director of Fisheries Department at the MME said, adding "the new berthing spaces to be allocated to ship and boat owners will not be at the same spaces being used by ships and boats that belong to fishermen, but rather will be adjacent to them.”
It is one of the strategic projects serving the private sector, as it would help elevate the efficiency of the facilities allocated for local communities, support the economic development at the four sites by boosting business activities, and provide facilities for stakeholders.
The project will help in business development and contribute to achieving part of the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, the officials said.
Gulf Times
22 February
