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Bahrain's ports - Integrated networks

Global Arab Network - - Mohamed Tamer

Sunday, 23 August 2009 23:22

Bahrains_ports_reap_the_rewards_of_integrated_networks

In today's economic climate, an integrated transport network is crucial to helping shipping companies and logistics operators to cut costs, according to the Chairman of the General Organisation of Sea Ports (GOP).

In an exclusive interview with (OBG), Sheikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa said that since Bahrain's air, sea and road networks boast excellent inter-connection, Bahrain is ideally placed to become a major transhipment centre and the premier port for the northern Gulf region.

"Its sea ports and the airport are located close to each other, connected by excellent road infrastructure to the 25km-long King Fahd Causeway,' Sheikh Daij said.

He added that Bahrain's competitiveness would be further increased once the construction of the new causeway linking Bahrain and Qatar was completed.

The interview features in The Report: Bahrain 2009, Rated as the premier source of information for foreign direct investment into the country's economy, it is a vital guide to the many facets of the Kingdom, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments.

The Report: Bahrain 2009 has been produced by a team of OBG analysts based in Bahrain who conducted some 200 interviews with leading political and economic figures. Sheikh Daij is one of the leading figures interviewed in The Report: Bahrain 2009, where the interview appears in full.

Sheikh Daij was bullish on the outlook for the new Khalifa bin Salman Port (KBSP) which is now fully operational.

'With the increased capacity, new equipment and the latest technology available, the port is capable of handling a vastly increased volume of business,' he said.

He voiced his confidence in APM Terminals (APMT), which won the tender to manage operations at KBSP, saying its global network and expertise would enable it to bring in major shipping lines and a wealth of trans-shipment business. These, he said, would bring enormous benefits to the Kingdom and create a large number of jobs in the local economy.

The GOP, Sheikh Daij said, had a key role to play in raising the KBSP's profile and ensuring it had the infrastructure to operate at an optimum level.

'The GOP provides the port operator with a quality infrastructure and will be responsible for carrying out, at its own expense, any required capital repairs,' he said. 'It will also promote the new port both regionally and internationally, in coordination with APMT, in an effort to attract shipping lines and other logistics operators.'

Expansion is also in the pipeline for the Bahrain Logistics Zone, which provides space for companies that focus on re-export and value-adding logistics activities.

Sheikh Daij said that re-exports were targeted primarily at the northern Gulf markets, while imports would come from a wider range of markets, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, US, Europe and Asia.

'The expansion phase is now in the planning stage and will include master planning, reclamation of additional land and building of infrastructure that will meet the requirements of the logistics sector,' he said.

Available in print form and online, The Report: Bahrain 2009 forms part of the range of OBG's publications renowned as leading sources of information on developing and emerging economies around the world.

Global Arab Network

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