The Hamad Port, which is being officially opened on Tuesday, has played a significant role in increasing Qatar’s foreign trade and in the development of the country’s major industries, an official of a local company has said.

Al Shaheen Aluminium, Glass & UPVC Factory chairman Shaheen al-Muhannadi said globalisation of the world economy “has brought tremendous increase in the exchange of goods across the world.”

As one of the largest ports in the region, al-Muhannadi said Hamad Port’s world-class facilities “are able to meet global demand.”
“A port becomes a wheel of the economy when it runs efficiently. Presently, the function of Hamad Port is not limited and has expanded to a logistical platform .The efficiency of a port is important in international trade since it is the nerve of a county’s foreign trade,” al-Muhannadi said.
He also stressed that Hamad Port plays a significant role in the operations of Qatar’s major industries in terms of cost efficiency, quality, and the speedy delivery of services. “This will increase our business because it will help us complete our projects on time, thus satisfying our customers,” al-Muhannadi pointed out.
He also said Al Shaheen Aluminium Factory is eyeing expansion plans to meet the growing demand of Qatar’s construction industry and to participate in the completion of major infrastructure projects in the country.
“For the next 15 years, major construction projects in Qatar are focused on meeting the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030. The aluminium, glass, and steel industry are among the major industries in the construction field. To meet growing local demand, we are expanding our business in the steel industry, building materials trading, IT, and other sectors,” al-Muhannadi stressed.
Asked if the unjust economic blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies had affected Qatar’s aluminium and steel industry, Al Shaheen Aluminium, UPVC & Glass Factory operations manager Abd el-Qadar said with the support of the government, local companies were able to source materials from other suppliers.
“The blockade had no impact on our business, and we were able to arrange alternative ways to import aluminium and steel,” el-Qadar said.
El-Qadar said Al Shaheen Aluminium Factory is importing, aluminium profile, glass, windows, doors accessories, steel, and other construction-related building materials from Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Belgium, UK, US, China, India, and Singapore.
“Some of the aluminium profile and glass manufacturers from these countries have their biggest plants in India. To complete our projects on time, we are importing from sources across the world,” he noted.