Hamad Port is Qatar's main seaport, located south of Doha in the Umm Al-Houl area. Construction of the port began in 2010; it became operational in December 2016. It was officially opened in September 2017, and is expected to become fully operational by 2020. Capable of handling up to 7.8 million tonnes of products annually, the bulk of trade which passes through the port consists of food and building materials.
The Hamad Port is creating a new world-class commercial port in Qatar, making it the world’s largest “greenfield” port-development project. Comprising a port, a base for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces and a canal for the planned Qatar Economic Zone 3, the project will span a 26.5-square-kilometer area. The port will act as a catalyst for the country’s trading industry, better positioning Qatar to benefit from the expected regional growth in container and vehicle carrier traffic as well as general cargo traffic.
