The general cargo and RORO movement through Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports saw modest growth on an annualised basis in July 2022; indicating the steady pace of the economy, according to the official statistics.
The general cargo handled through the three ports was 65,172 tonnes in July 2022, which showed a marginal 0.44% increase year-on-year but declined 35.74% month-on-month in the review period, said the figures released by Mwani Qatar.
Hamad Port – whose multi-use terminal is designed to serve the supply chains for the RORO, grains and livestock – handled 53,199 freight tonnes of breakbulk in July this year.
On a cumulative basis, the general cargo movement through the three ports totalled 919,201 tonnes in the first seven months of this year.
The three ports handled 7,179 vehicles (RORO) in July 2022, which registered a 30.08% and 10.34% growth on yearly and monthly basis respectively. They together handled as many as 45,242 vehicles during January-July 2022. Hamad Port alone handled 7,144 units in July this year.
The number of ships calling on Qatar's three ports stood at 241 in July 2022, which however was 19.13% and 12.04% lower year-on-year and month-on-month respectively. As many as 1,673 ships had called on three ports during the first six seven months of this year.
Hamad Port – whose strategic geographical location offers opportunities to create cargo movement towards the upper Gulf, supporting countries such as Kuwait and Iraq and south towards Oman – saw as many as 117 vessels call on the port in the review period.
With only few months to go for FIFA World Cup, the mega sporting event; Doha Port is boosting efforts to transform the country into an attractive regional tourist destination serving global cruise ships as well as providing the facilities needed for the economic diversification being pursued by Qatar National Vision 2030.
"Qatar’s maritime sector is expected to witness another year of strong growth in light of the efforts taken by the concerned authorities to boost goods traffic at the ports, with expectations of supply chains improving during the next few periods," Mwani Qatar had said in its latest annual report.
The container handling through three ports stood at 117,317 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), which showed a 3.63% and 0.65% decrease on yearly and monthly basis respectively in July 2022. The container handling through the three ports stood at 816,235 TEUs during January-July this year.
Hamad Port, which is the largest eco-friendly project in the region and internationally recognised as one of the largest green ports in the world, saw 114,861 TEUs of containers handled this July.
The container terminals have been designed to address the increasing trade volume, enhancing ease of doing business as well as supporting the achievement of economic diversification, which is one of the most important goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.
The three ports had handled 14,627 livestock in July 2022, which showed 60.6% and 42.8% decrease year-on-year and month-on-month respectively. The ports had handled a total 113,895 heads during January-July this year.
The building materials traffic through the three ports amounted to 28,634 tonnes in July this year, which shrank 18.02% and 19.27% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in the review period. A total of 289,383 tonnes of building materials had been handled by these ports in the first seven months of 2022.
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