QATAR: Sea change in port plans

The ongoing saga of the new port in Doha took a fresh twist in the first week of October. A decree by Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani abruptly announced the $5,500 million port planned as an offshore island east of Doha would instead be built 35 kilometres down the coast in the Mesaieed area, south of Al-Wakrah.

The sudden announcement came as a surprise to many within Qatar's ports community.

In late September, a senior ports official said that a location for the new port had not yet been chosen, with offshore and onshore sites still under consideration, prompting local engineering contractors to complain that the project was 'back to square one on the location'.

The official insisted that the project would still go ahead and that a location would be selected by the end of October.

But the following day, the new Mesaieed port was confirmed by Finance Minister Yousuf Hussain Kamal.

The port was originally to be built on reclaimed land 5 kilometres east of Doha International Airport and connected to the mainland by an 8.5-kilometre-long trestle bridge.

If the new Mesaieed port follows similar specifications, it will comprise a commercial port with capacity of about 1 million TEUs, and a section for naval forces.

The new port Doha masterplan was prepared by US construction giant Bechtel. Bids were submitted in 2005 for the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract by Bechtel and the US' Kellogg Brown & Root.

It had been assumed that as the designer on the project, Bechtel was frontrunner in the bidding until, inexplicably, everything went quiet. Occasional ministerial statements continued to reaffirm the government's belief in the project, but by 2007 there had still been little progress on the scheme. That was until June, when the emir issued a decree establishing a new steering committee for the Doha Port project.

The committee is headed by Abdulaziz Mohamed al-Noami, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority.

The UK's Scott Wilson and PSA Singapore have been drafted in as consultants to the Qatari ports regulator, the Customs & Ports General Authority (CPGA).

Regardless of the reasons for the delay and the move in location, the emir's intervention does at least mark renewed commitment to the project. The most curious matter about the lengthy hold-up is that it is universally accepted that Qatar desperately needs the project.

The emirate had the fastest-growing economy in the world in 2007, and although it is starting from a relatively small foundation, the rate of growth is already placing a strain on the national infrastructure. As Qatar expands its industrial base beyond its main strength in natural gas, new facilities are needed and the new port is an essential gateway for the import of necessary construction materials and the export of products.

Qatar recently announced tentative plans to build two extra free trade zones in the country, in addition to the one already planned, which was to sit between the new port and the airport. The government wants to attract large transport companies and hi-tech business to the emirate, but for these long-term ambitions to be met, Qatar must improve its port infrastructure or risk losing business to other GCC countries.

'There is a huge amount of construction material going through Doha port at the moment - timber, pipes and other materials - and consumer goods for the population,' says George Thampy, acting cargo manager of Qatar Navigation, which runs Qatari shipping and the city's current port.

'There are tremendous changes in Qatar and incoming cargo will double, so a larger port is needed. It is not a trans-shipment hub presently - this is the intention for the new project.'

The current port in Doha is simply not up to the job of handling materials in sufficient quantities to supply the country's