The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) unveiled Tuesday a project for ship and boat berthing locations at Qatar’s harbors, as part of its efforts in marine transportation planning and development through direct coordination with the Fisheries Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, under which fishing harbors operate.
Announcing the project during a press briefing today, Director of Maritime Transport Licensing and Planning Department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications Nasser Qadar said that in light of the growing number of private ships and boats registered with the Ministry, efforts were accelerated to provide solutions for ship and boat owners by allocating berthing locations for them.
He noted that a committee, established by HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the membership of all governmental bodies concerned with the matter, has formed a working group that conducted studies and drafted plans for the establishment of the berthing spaces.
The berthing locations were decided to be at the four harbors of Al Ruwais, Al Khor, Al Zakhira and Al Wakra; these are state owned, operate under the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and are increasingly frequented by many ship owners, he added.
Qadar said that the project had been approved, and its budget dedicated and implementation was commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to Mwani Qatar in accordance with the best internationally-recognized safety and quality standards.
For his part, Director of Fisheries Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment Mohammed Saeed Al Mohannadi explained that picking up the four harbors of Al Ruwais, Al Khor, Al Zakhira and Al Wakra was based on a careful study. The new berthing spaces to be allocated for ship and boat owners will not be at the same spaces being used by ships and boats that belong to fishermen, but rather will be adjacent to them.
He stressed that the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Mwani Qatar, is eager to set up the project, which will contribute to providing solutions for ship and boat owners.
 Engineering Director at Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) Eng. Nabil Alkhaldi noted that Mwani Qatar was commissioned to prepare the necessary studies to initiate a project for ship and boat berthing at four of Qatar’s key fishing harbors; namely Al Ruwais, Al Khor, Al Zakhira and Al Wakra, as per directives of HE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti. 
Based on that, he remarked, Mwani Qatar prepared integrated planning and technical studies under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and engineering designs and drawings were approved for nearly 1000 berths at those four harbors. 
Eng. Alkhaldi said the execution of the project, which represents one more aspect of a policy of public-private sector partnership adopted by the MOTC, is expected to begin within the next few months, noting that work is underway to put the project out to public tender, followed by the award of the project, which should be completed in less than a year and half. 
He underlined that Mwani Qatar, supervised by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, will be complying with the use of the best materials and making sure those materials meet the highest safety and quality standards in order to ensure that they are effective, sustainable and eco-friendly. 
The project reflects the considerable attention the MOTC pays to providing appropriate and modern facilities with global standards and specifications to meet the needs of ship and boat owners in a way that serves the national economy and contributes to better regulating ship berthing and stevedoring operations, in addition to protecting them from risks in cases of strong storms. 
It is also one of the strategic projects serving the private sector, as it will help elevate the efficiency of the facilities allocated for local communities, support the economic development at the abovementioned four sites by boosting business activities, and provide facilities for stakeholders. This is hoped to help in business development and contribute to achieving part of the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Source: QNA