HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti on Saturday witnessed the arrival of the first vessel, as planned and scheduled, at Hamad Port’s Container Terminal 2 (CT2) project.
The ship was loaded with the first shipment of rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) for vertical container transportation. RTGs will be installed on the CT2 quay directly to be used in the initial operation of Container Terminal 2.
Inspecting the work progress at CT2, HE the Minister was briefed on work updates regarding building and construction works and what has been completed so far.
The CT2 development consists of four phases. Full operation of phases 1 and 2 will start before the end of 2022, taking the port’s capacity to 3mn TEUs per year. Phases 3 and 4 will be developed later to raise the port’s operational capacity according to the local market’s needs, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has said in a statement.
On this occasion, HE the Minister said the CT2 operation will boost Hamad Port’s ranking as the most updated and most efficient gateway for shipping containers and cargo in the Gulf and the surrounding region in general.
The fact that all CT2 works near completion confirms the continuity of the plans that aim to develop and increase the port’s capacity, which is in progress in full gear with no delay or slowdown despite the repercussions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected several economies around the world directly and indirectly, HE the Minister said.
The area of phases 1 and 2 of Hamad Port’s CT2 is 380,000sqm. Its quay is 624m long. CT2 is expected to offer the business sector all the modern equipment that uses latest and eco-friendly world technologies to execute their business fast and smoothly.
CT2 will be equipped with STS quay cranes with advanced technology. Each STS crane can handle two containers at the same time. It will also be equipped with RTGs for vertical container transportation, Terminal Tractor APM 75T HE for horizontal container transportation, empty container handlers and trailers.
Further, all operation-related and service buildings and infrastructure will be constructed at CT2, in addition to telecom, ELV and SSD networks, stormwater networks and relevant infrastructure and installations, supporting CT2's integration with CT1, which started operation in December 2016.
