The port will host events all year long, most of which will be associated with maritime activities, including a traditional dhow competition that will be announced soon. Old Doha Port Executive Director, Engr. Mohammed Abdulla Al Mulla stressed that they wanted to “reinforce the idea and to remind people about the origin of the place, being the waterfront, we need to really utilise this kind of features with regards to Doha Port.”
Old Doha Port was inaugurated days before the World Cup and it quickly became one of the country’s top tourist attractions. A mixed-use structure with more than 50 cafés, restaurants, and 100 businesses makes up the 800,000 sqm project. Along with its main hotel, the Mina Hotel and Residences, which has 30 rooms, it also offers 150 hotel apartments. The project development was completed in four years. Apart from the docks and the Grand Terminal, the Mina District, which is made up of pastel-coloured buildings that are commercial businesses, is a significant aspect of the Old Doha Port.
Engr. Al Mulla also revealed that during the quadrennial event, they received 8,000 to 10,000 visitors per day. “During the World Cup, we exceeded the expected number of visitors, apart from the people who were residing at the floating hotel, we received thousands of people per day, some days we receive up to 8,000 people and on some days 10,000.”
They estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 persons visited the Port during the first week of January this year. “As you can see, we’re in the first week of January, we’re talking about more than 3,000 to 4,000 people. We expect more, because most people are now abroad, on vacation, so once they come back, the place will be plenty of people,” he explained.
