# Anglo-Turkish Consortium Signs Deal to Build and Operate Hobyo Port

> On 2020-11-07 Somaliland Sun reported Galmudug State signed an agreement with a UK-based consortium to build Hobyo port; details remain unverified.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 30 September 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Business and Costs
- Tags: procurement, project-management, construction-risk
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/anglo-turkish-consortium-hobyo-port-deal

## Key points

- On 7 November 2020, Somaliland Sun reported that Galmudug State signed an agreement with a UK-based consortium to build and operate Hobyo port.
- The minister for ports and fisheries announced the deal on Twitter, naming Oriental Terminal as the consortium, but the report does not establish what has happened since.
- The announcement, attributed to the minister, claims Turkish, British and Somali companies are involved and a survey team would arrive, but no contract value, timeline or current status is provided.

On 7 November 2020, Somaliland Sun reported that the government of Somalia's Galmudug State signed an agreement with a UK-based consortium to build a port in the coastal town of Hobyo.

The deal was announced on Twitter by Abdisabir Nur Shurie, Galmudug's minister for ports and fisheries, according to the report. The minister said the agreement was signed in London with Oriental Terminal, which he said was made up of Turkish, British and Somali companies.

Shurie added that the first survey team would arrive in the country to plan the construction and operation of the port, the minister said. He also said the port would bring "significant socio-economic changes in the lives of millions of people in Galmudug and neighbouring states".

The report does not establish what has happened since the announcement. It does not state whether the agreement is legally binding or a memorandum of understanding. It gives no contract value or total project cost for the new agreement. It does not name the companies in the consortium or provide evidence of financing.

The deal follows reports in June that the port would be built and operated by a "public-private entity" with the help of $90m from Somali businesses, Somaliland Sun reported.

The announcement seems to end the involvement of Qatar in the project, Somaliland Sun reported. Last year the government of Qatar was reported to have signed an agreement worth around $170m to build the port, and the project was to have been developed by state-owned port management company Mwani Qatar, according to the publication's reporting of previous reports.

> **Note:** No official confirmation of the consortium's composition, survey team arrival, or construction start has been reported since the 7 November 2020 article.

Somaliland Sun also reported that Qatar has invested about $4bn in Somalia over the past eight years, and the Hobyo scheme was to be part of its effort to raise its influence in the country in competition with the other Gulf states.

The state of Galmudug, founded in 2006, has tense relations with the federal government in Mogadishu, the report added. Since the 13th century Hobyo has been a hub for merchants trading in textiles, precious metals and pearls; modern export crops have been livestock, hides, aromatic woods and raisins, according to Somaliland Sun.

## Questions

### Who is the consortium building Hobyo port?

The minister for ports and fisheries said the consortium is Oriental Terminal, made up of Turkish, British and Somali companies, as reported by Somaliland Sun on 7 November 2020.

### What are the terms of the build-operate agreement?

The reported agreement would have the consortium build and operate the port, but the report does not state whether it is legally binding, nor does it give a contract value or timeline.

### What is the expected cost and timeline for Hobyo port?

Somaliland Sun's report does not provide a contract value or total project cost for the new agreement, and no construction start or completion date is given.

## Sources

- [Somalia: Anglo-Turkish Consortium to Build and Operate Hobyo port in Galmudug State](https://somalilandsun.com/somalia-anglo-turkish-consortium-to-build-and-operate-hobyo-port-in-galmudug-state/) — Somaliland Sun, 2020-11-07