Global container terminal network DP World have won a 30-year concession for the Port of Berbera in Somaliland, in which it plans invest $442m over three phases. The deal includes an automatic 10-year extension.
The multi-purpose deepwater port will be developed and operated via a joint venture with the government of Somaliland that will be 65% controlled by DP World.
A 400-metre-long quay and 250,000-square-metre yard extension will be added during the first phase of the port’s development. Gantry cranes and reachstackers will also be acquired to handle mainly containers but with capabilities for handling other cargo.
The project aims to establish a regional trading hub with scope for a free zone at the port, but the total $442m investment will be spent in phases, depending on port volumes, DP World said.
“We are delighted to extend our African footprint with a major investment in Somaliland. Investment in this natural deep-water port will attract more shipping lines to East Africa and its modernisation will act as a catalyst for the growth of the country and the region’s economy,” Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World’s group chairman and CEO, said in a release.
“Berbera will contribute to our continued growth in the developing markets of Africa in the years ahead. It is also a breakthrough in developing access to the sea for landlocked Ethiopia, the region’s largest economy. We look forward to bringing DP World’s world class productivity-enhancing, security, safety and environmental best practices in container terminal development and operation to Somaliland.”
Dr Saad Ali Shire, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of Somaliland, said the Port of Berbera would “offer East African importers and exporters a unique, additional world class deep-water port that will dramatically improve the competitiveness of their products in world markets and has the potential to transform the region’s economy”.
Pictured: Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem (left), DP World’s group chairman and CEO, with Dr Saad Ali Shire (right), minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation for the Republic of Somaliland, at the signing ceremony at DP World’s Jebel Ali Port in Dubai.
