Mubasher: Hamad Port held a ceremony to mark receiving its first one million of Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEUs) containers since its first operation in September 2017, ahead of its forecast schedule. 

Hamad Port enjoys a leading position among key regional and global ports, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC).

Qatar's main seaport was able to handle around one million TEU containers from both regional and global seaports through 22 direct navigation routes and 120 navigation destinations, transport and communications Jassim Saif Al Sulaiti said.

“The synergy of efforts among all stakeholders has played a key role in boosting productivity and accelerating handling operations, thereby raising the port’s competitiveness in terms of the time consumed in stevedoring services,” Al Sulaiti added.

With a total cost was $7.4 billion, Hamad Port was officially opened early in September 2017 with investment returns amounted to QAR 2.5 billion.

Since 5 June 2017, Qatar has been facing outflows of foreign customers' deposits after four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia cut their trade and diplomatic ties with the gas-rich state, accusing Doha of financing terrorism. 

The crisis propelled the world’s biggest LNG exporter to launch several navigation routes and airlines in a bid to overcome the boycott.