Somaliland Launches 10km Stretch of Erigavo-Burao Asphalt Road

On 10 May 2014, Somaliland Sun reported that construction of over 300 km of tarmac road linking Erigavo to Burao had been initiated. The report, by Yusuf M Hasan, said presidency minister Hirsi Haji Ali and Roads Development Authority (RDA) manager Prof Hasan Ali Osman officially launched construction at the Burao-Erigavo road junction at Afmadow in Toghdeer region.

According to Somaliland Sun, the launch initiates a 10 km stretch from Afmadow. It runs concurrently with launches covering 10 km at Erigavo, 5 km at El'afweine and 5 km in Gara'adag, the latter three in Sanaag region.

The report states that President Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo instigated the project and laid the foundation stone at Afmadow on 16 September 2013. Somaliland Sun also reported that the government, with part donations from citizens in the country and the Diaspora, purchased several earthmovers intended for the project.

Somaliland Sun described the project as an ambition of the Kulmiye party administration and said it is "said to cost several millions in dollars", an unattributed assertion. The report added that successful implementation would turn Sanaag from a dependent region into a producing one, making Somaliland self-reliant in almost 85% of foodstuffs, a conditional projection.

What the 2014 report does not establish is equally material. It gives no contract value, no named contractor or consultant, no financing breakdown beyond part donations, and no number or value for the earthmovers. There is no evidence in the report of works progress, expenditure or completion after the May 2014 launch. For the current status of the Erigavo-Burao road, no post-2014 evidence is available in this report.