Berbera Public Solar Power Unveiled by Somaliland VP

On 13 January 2021, Somali Dispatch reported that the Vice President of the Republic of Somaliland, HE Abdirahman Abdillahi Ismail (Saylici), unveiled a low-cost solar power project in Berbera, the capital of the Sahil region. The outlet described the project as "UAE-funded" and "the largest in Somaliland" but gave no basis for that ranking, such as capacity or investment value.

Somali Dispatch stated that the project had been agreed to be co-managed by the Somaliland Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the Berbera power company. No agreement document, signature date, or terms were provided. The report also named no UAE funding entity, financing amount, or disbursement evidence.

At the unveiling, UCID opposition chairman Eng. Faisal Ali Warabe said the project should have been managed entirely by the government instead of sharing proceeds with businessmen, according to the same report.

Somali Dispatch reported that Finance Minister Dr Saad Ali Shire proposed to the electricity companies that the price of electricity be reduced to $0.10 cents per unit. Separately, the outlet stated that the Sahil regional administration and the power companies agreed that from February 2021 the price of electricity in Berbera would be $0.10 per unit of 800 Somaliland Shillings. The report did not clarify whether the proposal and the reported agreement were the same decision or whether the two figures represented a single tariff in two currencies. It also gave no evidence that either price was implemented.

The report added that Vice President Ismail thanked the UAE government for funding the project and called on the community to protect and benefit from it. Somali Dispatch did not document the UAE link beyond the Vice President's statement.

No information was provided on construction status, completion, commissioning, generation, capacity in megawatts, project value, contract value, equipment supplier, EPC contractor, or consultant. There is no record in the Somali Dispatch article of any development after 13 January 2021.