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In his speech at the Hamad Port inauguration ceremony, HE the Minister said: 

“This magnificent construction, which was completed ahead of schedule and below budget, will be remembered in history as a sign of gratitude from this dignified nation to Your Highness, the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. This giant gateway carries the Father Emir’s name, which, in our memory and world memory, will be synonymous with the maker of miracles in this land.

This would not have been achieved without the guiding directives and unlimited encouragement from Your Highness and the active support from HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Such great support has had a great impact in energizing our drive and increasing the momentum for more work and dedication.

We are here today at the heart of this megaproject to emphasize once again that our country is moving ahead on the track you outlined and the building blocks you laid for our modern renaissance. This demonstrates that nothing will destroy our ambitions and dreams given the spirit of togetherness between Your Highness and this faithful nation – a spirit rarely to be found elsewhere.

Your Highness the Emir, 

Your vision not only foresaw all the hard possibilities of the future but is also a motivator for us to face all of its challenges. We say this as we introduce today a major element of Qatar National Vision 2030, which will see Qatar become an attractive economic destination in every sense of the word.

Hamad Port demonstrates this most vividly as it has played a very important role recently by providing direct marine shipping routes with key regional and world seaports in a short time, thus contributing to securing the goods, supplies and all that is needed for our vital projects.

Hamad Port spans an area of nearly 30 square kilometers. Its full capacity will exceed 7.5 million containers a year on completion of all its construction phases with some QR2.5-billion direct and indirect investment returns. Over 150 million man-hours were spent here without incidents. The project involved 22,000 workers at peak construction times, and will contribute to increasing world trade volumes between Qatar and world markets, creating job opportunities for youth, raising living standards in addition to improving Qatar’s competitiveness by transforming it into a regional business center, which, in turn, will establish sustainable development for generations to come.

Hamad Port provides a role model for how the directives of His Highness the Emir are being executed in supporting the private sector and promoting its contribution to the development process countrywide. The private sector took over 60% of the value of all tenders announced for the execution of this megaproject, which exceeds QR10 billion. Moreover, the private sector will have a major portion of the construction works of the second phase of the Port with projects reaching QR5 billion to be completed and delivered between 2020 and 2021.

The private sector’s participation has not stopped there. Rather, it has gone beyond the normal convention of construction and building, to its participation in Port operations through operations management company “QTerminals”. This helps enrich the sector’s spirit of investment and localizes applied expertise and technology, adding value to our national economy.

At Hamad Port project, the environment has always been key to our strategy. Plants, birds and aquatic organisms have been taken care of and carefully reintroduced. In recognition of this, Hamad Port won the largest smart and green-friendly project award at the Middle East level.

We have proven beyond any doubt how much we are flexible but steadfast when it comes to facing challenges without compromising out values, traditions, and ambitions. We have all reason today to keep our heads up, given the amount of difficulties we have overcome and the challenges we have faced.

Today, we are stronger and more determined with even more options at hand. We do not wait for the sea to calm - we learn how to sail through the storm.

We do not live on the margins of life as was said by Your Highness and today we answer Your Highness: we live at the heart of it, make it and write our names on its face.”

 

Thank You.