Engineer Nabil Al-Khalidi, Executive Director of the Hamad Port Project, confirmed that the strategic food security station in the port aims to improve the management and balance of the strategic stock of basic food commodities for a period of two years, covering the needs of 3 million people in an area of 500 thousand square meters, by focusing on three commodities. A basic strategy is rice, oil and sugar with different capacity, pointing out that work is currently underway to complete the readiness to operate all the project facilities, according to the targeted timetable, and within a few months the station will be in actual operation.
Al-Khalidi said during an interview with the Nabd Al-Iqtisad program on Qatar TV that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is responsible for operating the food security station, as the Ministry has completed the stage of expressing requests for interest, followed by the stage of competition and submission of technical and financial bids for the tender and then awarding to companies.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the signing of the operating agreement with the private sector is expected to take place in the first quarter of next year.
The Strategic Silos Project represents one of the most important programs aimed at enhancing food security in the State of Qatar, as this project is primarily directed towards supporting the stability and sustainability of food supplies in a way that protects local markets from various regional and global geopolitical and economic variables, which would greatly affect the trade and security sectors. “Food and supplies,” and the State of Qatar, based on its awareness of these factors, has moved towards implementing integrated policies to protect the national economy from fluctuations, diversify sources of income, and adopt a national strategy for food security, aimed at enhancing and diversifying international trade, developing logistics services, increasing self-sufficiency in vital sectors, and building Strategic reserves support the stability of local markets.
Regarding the port’s capacity and the types of ships that can be received, Engineer Nabil Al-Khalidi said that Hamad Port is one of the largest ports in the Middle East with a capacity of 7.5 million standard containers annually, and it can receive all types of ships of different sizes. The length of the port’s berths is 8.5 kilometers with a distinctive width of the port basin. It is 700 metres.
The port’s general cargo terminal has a berth length of 1,200 meters and accommodates 7 million tons and can handle various goods, including machinery, steel, dry bulk goods, building materials, fertilizers and petrochemical products through 3 giant cranes of the best types in the world.
There is also a car reception station that accommodates 500,000 cars annually and has the ability to receive giant ships for transit and then re-export cars to neighboring ports.
Al-Khalidi pointed out that the port’s berths are among the most advanced and most modern in the world, with a system for receiving rubber stoppers, which maintains the safety of ships in the port, which helps them enter comfortably without any obstacles, which confirms the port’s keenness on security and safety procedures.
The Executive Director of the Hamad Port Project said that 28 shipping lines serve the port directly and indirectly, which enhances the business of companies and merchants and facilitates the work of supply chains and supplies, thus achieving economic growth in the country, pointing out that the port aims to receive more than 2,000 ships by the end of this year.