A five-fold jump in general cargo and more than doubled handling of building materials, along with robust growth in containers, led Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports witness robust performance in December 2020, indicating the promising potential for Qatar's logistics and support services as well as for the special zones within the periphery.
On a monthly basis, there had been growth in containers and building materials, which not only indicate the resilience of Qatar's trade but also shows the rebound of businesses, corroborating the Qatar Financial Centre’s positive outlook on the non-energy private sector.
The general cargo handled through the three ports stood at 230,806 tonnes in December 2020, which according to Mwani Qatar's estimates, shows a 465% surge on a yearly basis. It however was down 1.15% month-on-month in the review period.
The cumulative general cargo movement through the three ports reached more than 1.5mn tonnes during January-December 2020, registering more than 66% growth against the corresponding period of 2019.
The container handling through the three ports stood at 148,716 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), which grew 37.01% and 11.48% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in December 2020. The three ports had registered 7.7% year-on-year growth to a cumulative 1.44mn TEUs in 2020.
The 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, alone saw 146,429 TEUs of containers handled in December 2020. The port's cumulative figure stood at 1.41mn TEUs in 2020.
December also saw the initial operations of the container terminal 2 or CT2 began in December, through which the capacity of the Hamad Port will reach 3mn TEUs per year in the days to come.
The number of ships calling on Qatar's three ports stood at 286 in December this year, which was 11% lower on both yearly and monthly basis respectively.
Through Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports, Mwani Qatar endeavours to be a major player in global shipping operations, achieving the objectives of transforming Qatar into a vibrant regional trade hub. Mwani Qatar plays a crucial role in the international supply chain system.
As many as 3,310 ships had called on three ports during the whole of 2020, which, however, was down 18.97% year-on-year.
Hamad Port’s strategic geographical location offers opportunities to create cargo movement towards the upper Gulf, supporting countries such as Kuwait and Iraq, and south towards Oman.
The building materials handled amounted to 42,283 tonnes in December last year, which more than doubled on yearly basis and grew 3% month-on-month. A total of 357,493 tonnes of building materials had been handled by these three ports during the whole of 2020, which, nevertheless, showed a 5.6% decline on a yearly basis.
The three ports together handled 3,547 vehicles (RORO) in December 2020, which fell 43.14% and 42.07% year-on-year and month-on-month. A total of 61,204 units have moved through these ports during January-December 2020 but showing a 15.95% yearly decline.
The three ports had handled 50,617 livestock in December, which was down about 20% year-on-year; but witnessed more than a 71% surge against that in November 2020. The ports had cumulatively handled 453,145 heads in 2020, which showed about 40% shrinkage year-on-year.
Besides the usual handling of general cargoes, the Al Ruwais port, Qatar's northern gateway to trade, now handles increased demand of foodstuff and other commodities. It also provides a ready solution by acting as gateway for fresh commodities from neighbouring countries.
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