Qatar launches 'blockade-busting' port, one of region's largest

Qatar is set to officially inaugurate a port designed to help bypass a Gulf "blockade" on a country largely dependent on food imports.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday will attend the official inauguration of Hamad Port, which has already played a key role in breaking the economic boycott imposed on Doha by four Arab states, the Qatar News Agency [QNA] reported.

The Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti said the port's warehouses will be able to store a two-year food stock for 3 million people.

Sulaiti added that Qatari business are planning to set up factories in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan to help Doha become more self-sufficient.

Qatar has been expanding its maritime trade capabilities after a group of countries led by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates cut off political and trade links with Doha on June 5, initiating the Gulf's worst political crisis in years.

The bloc accuses Qatar of supporting extremism, a charge the emirate denies.

The $7.1 billion mega-port has been operational for ten months and has opened up new sea links to the emirate.

Vital supplies have been shipped to Qatar via the port, including dairy produce from Turkish manufacturers that have helped cut up the slack after Saudi farmers were subject to Riyadh's embargo.

Also welcomed to the emirate this week are 207 racing camels that were shipped to Doha's Hamad Port from Sohar, in northern Oman.

The port holds vital importance to Qatar, which goes beyond the immediate blockade. Qatar's Vision 2030 plan aims to diversify the country's economy which is almost completely reliant on its rich gas reserves.

Qatar - like other resource-rich countries in the Gulf - is looking to use its strategic location to its advantage and make Hamad Port a major regional logistics hub.

It is already one of the region's largest ports and is set to have three terminals by 2020, capable of handling 7.5 million containers a year.