It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the website of the General Organisation of Sea Ports.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the Gateway to the Middle East and the Sea Ports are the Gateway to the Kingdom. Privatisation of the operation of sea ports was a major land mark and an important element in the Government’s strategies to provide world class facilities and services to the traders, boosts Bahrain exports, attract a greater flow of inward investments and create employment opportunities for the well-educated and highly skilled local manpower. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the private sector Port Operator, APM Terminal, Bahrain (a part of the internationally renowned Maersk group) is fully committed to providing world class services to its customers and excellent employment opportunities to young Bahrainis. In addition, the port operations, under the private sector management and overall supervision of the General Organisation of Sea Ports, are expected to bring in huge revenues for the Government which will be used to further improve the standard of living of the people.

Bahrain ports will undergo a sea of changes in terms of quality of services and speed and efficiency of operations, once both the new Khalifa Bin Salman Port, in Hidd, and the Bahrain Logistics Zone become operational at the end of 2008. The GOP will also actively work to ensure the safety of the maritime activities and protection of the maritime environment.

The new GOP website will provide an insight into the role of the GOP and serve as an effective means of communication with the local and international customers and investors.

I take this opportunity to express my warm greetings and best wishes to the users of the Website and other members of the local and international business community.