Thales to deploy cutting-edge tech to secure Hamad Port

Qatar has awarded global technology firm Thales a contract to secure the new Hamad Port. The multibillion riyal greenfield commercial port is one of the largest and most technologically advanced in the world. Thales yesterday said it would deliver and install an integrated solution for the protection of the infrastructure and its environment, in addition to ensuring that the operations of the new port run safely.A vital component of Qatar’s economic infrastructure, the new port will comprise three container terminals with an eventual combined annual capacity in excess of 6mn containers a year. It will not only cater to the expected growth in container traffic, but will also accommodate general cargo traffic, offshore support, coast guard vessels, a marine support unit, imports of vehicles, livestock and bulk grain. In total, facilities at the Hamad Port will stretch more than 20sq km.To secure the new commercial port, Thales is to provide a “high technology integrated solution” managed by a security command and control centre, including a perimeter intrusion detection system, a perimeter surveillance and lighting system, a redundant IT communication network, a redundant video storage system, an under vehicle surveillance system and a tetra communication system. The secured area will have a 19km perimeter, Thales said. Thales’ Hamad Port security command and control centre is to bring an integrated response to piracy, trafficking, smuggling and global threats of terrorism. Maintaining port security is of utmost importance and Thales will be providing a complete and real-time situational picture of the site, it said.Thales’s value proposition for the Hamad Port is focusing on the capacity to integrate various kinds of sensors in a user-friendly human-machine Interface. The overall solution is to be highly secured, resilient and, with an eye to future developments, easily upgradable.This contract marks the first time Thales will deploy its most cutting-edge technologies on such a large scale.