New Qatar port aims to 'break shackles' of boycott

Qatar yesterday said that a new $7.4 billion port would help to "break the shackles" of a three-month-old boycott of the gas-rich emirate by Arab states led by Saudi Arabia.

The Hamad Port, which began operating in December, is a major hub for imports to Qatar, hit by a land and air embargo by some of its most powerful neighbours.

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"This is a gateway to break the shackles imposed on Qatar," transport minister Jassim bin Saif Al-Sulaiti said in a speech during an inauguration ceremony for the port held Tuesday.

"Nothing can stop us and our ambition," he added.

In a relatively rare public appearance since the onset of the crisis, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the inauguration but did not speak.