Ministry of Transport is planning to announce a tender for a specialized shipping company to run and administer Yemeni ports in a manner that ensures providing better services to shipping lines, keeping the rights of workers and giving more attention to safety and health with competitive prices.

Minister of Transport Khalid Al-Wazeer announced that announcing the tender comes in translation of state policy aiming to stop monopoly of loading and unloading by some shipping companies and to allow other companies to rival in this field for better services.

Earlier this month, Minister of Transport stated that the Dubai International Ports and Aden Gulf Ports Corporation signed on March 9 an agreement to establish a joint company to develop Aden container terminal and a container handling station.

Al-Wazeer added that the government supported the Shipyard Company with YR 432 million over the last three years to renew the existing shipyards and to restore and deepen the wharf. The support also aims to modernizing fire fighting system.

He further revealed that they are looking for a strategic partner for developing and operating the company, hinting his ministry aims to develop containers terminal to handle 2.5 million containers over the few coming years.

Meantime, Al-Wazeer pointed out that containers port has been progressing over the last three years as it handled 450,000 containers by the end of 2007, rising from 115,000 containers in the past.