In brief
- Somaliland Standard reported that a groundbreaking ceremony for the Berbera Corridor road took place on 28 February 2019.
- The report said an Ethiopian delegation attended, and that a port management company has been created with DP World holding 51% ownership, Somaliland 30%, and Ethiopia 19%.
- Somaliland Standard reported the agreement calls for $442 million to upgrade Berbera Port and build a new container port, plus millions more for a road to Wajale, but the report does not establish that works have since commenced.
On 28 February 2019, Somaliland Standard reported that a groundbreaking ceremony for the Berbera Corridor road linking Ethiopia with Somaliland took place that day. The report said an Ethiopian delegation led by Mustafa Muhumed Omer, Deputy Chief Administrator of Somali regional state, attended the event.
The ceremony marked the formal start of a project that Somaliland Standard said includes an agreement creating a new company to manage Berbera Port. According to the report, ownership shares of that company were allocated with DP World taking 51% ownership, Somaliland holding 30% of the shares, and Ethiopia owning 19%.
Somaliland Standard reported that the agreement calls for infrastructure investment of $442 million to upgrade the existing Berbera Port and to build a new adjacent container port. It also includes millions of dollars more to build a new road from Berbera to the Ethiopian border town of Wajale, the report said.
The report projected that the expanded Berbera port and the new road would provide Ethiopian government and business community with increased capacity to import and export merchandise to support growth of the Ethiopian economy.
What the 28 February 2019 report does not establish is what has happened since the ceremony. Somaliland Standard did not state whether the road or port expansion works have commenced. The report did not identify a contractor or developer for either the road or the port expansion. It did not clarify whether the $442 million investment figure is a total project cost or a phased commitment, nor its source or current status. The report also did not specify a value for the road construction beyond "millions of dollars more," and it did not name the company that manages Berbera Port.