In brief
- On 6 August 2016, Somaliland Sun reported that a motion on the preliminary Berbera port agreement with DP World was tabled in the Somaliland parliament the previous day.
- The government presented a preliminary agreement and urged approval, while debate was expected to continue over the following days.
- The report does not establish whether the motion was approved, the agreement finalised, or any port works started.
On 6 August 2016, Somaliland Sun reported that a motion on the privatization of Berbera port concerning investment by Dubai Ports World (DP World) was tabled in the Somaliland parliament the previous day. The government presented a preliminary agreement, not a final one, with the Presidency minister and foreign affairs minister leading the case.
The Presidency minister, named by Somaliland Sun as Hon. Mohamud Hashi Abdi, said legal procedures and regulations required such a matter to be presented to parliament. He told members that if they endorsed the agreement, the government would adopt it and proceed with upgrading the port, but if they rejected it, "the matter will rest there."
The agreement, as described by the officials, is based on three phases. It entails building a new 400-metre-long docking harbour, a further 525-yard extension, and total rehabilitation and reconstruction of the existing port. According to a German consultant engineer, as cited by the publication, the existing port needed a 15m USD facelift.
Foreign affairs minister Hon. Sa'ad Ali Shire, as reported, argued that the benefits of upgrading the port outweighed current drawbacks. He said the port handles less than 800 medium ships and dhows per annum and about 26,000 containers, while Djibouti's neighbouring port handles nearly 2,000 large ships and almost a million containers. He also said Somaliland's population had doubled since the port was last modernised a quarter of a century earlier, and that the port was constructed to handle baggage, not containers, and had no cranes of its own.
The state considered seven other options before opting for DP World, the minister indicated. Somaliland Sun reported that bilateral commercial trade exchanges between Somaliland and Ethiopia are assumed to be in the hundreds of millions of USD, cited as 600.
The parliamentary session was chaired by Speaker Hon. A.M. Abdillahi, assisted by both deputies, and the chamber was almost full. Debate on the motion was expected to continue over the next few days.
Frequently asked questions
What did the motion on Berbera port development call for?
According to Somaliland Sun, the government tabled a preliminary agreement with DP World for parliament's approval, which would allow the adoption of the agreement and subsequent upgrading of the port if endorsed.
Who introduced the motion in parliament?
Somaliland Sun reported that the government tabled the motion, with the Presidency minister and foreign affairs minister presenting the case to parliament.
What was the parliamentary procedure expected after the motion was tabled?
Somaliland Sun reported that debate on the motion was expected to continue over the next few days, and the Presidency minister said that if parliament rejected it, the matter would rest there.