# Ethiopia Sees Berbera Terminal Cutting Djibouti Reliance

> Wardheer News reported on 28 June 2021 that a new Berbera container terminal opened, with Ethiopian officials framing it as an alternative to Djibouti.

- 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: Infrastructure and Services
- Tags: ports, utilities
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/ethiopia-berbera-terminal-djibouti-reliance

## Key points

- A new container terminal opened at Berbera port in Somaliland, and the Somaliland government and DP World officially inaugurated it on a Thursday, according to Wardheer News on 2021-06-28.
- Somaliland and DP World officials said the terminal raises Berbera's container capacity to 500,000 TEUs annually from the current 150,000 TEUs.
- The report does not establish what has happened at Berbera since 2021-06-28, and no figure for total project cost or actual expenditure is given.

On 28 June 2021, Wardheer News reported that a new container terminal had opened at Berbera port in Somaliland, describing it as an expected trade gateway for landlocked Ethiopia. The same report said the Somaliland government and DP World, the Dubai-based operator developing and expanding the port, officially inaugurated the terminal on a Thursday, after completion of phase one of the expansion project.

Attendance at the ceremony, as reported, included Ethiopian Finance Minister Ahmed Shide, Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges and the president of Ethiopia's Somali region. Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi said the newly built terminal would open up an economic opportunity in the East African region, and that the port would serve landlocked countries, mainly Ethiopia.

## What officials claimed about capacity

Somaliland and DP World officials said the new terminal raises Berbera's container capacity to 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually from the current 150,000 TEUs. The report does not provide independent verification of either figure. Completion of the second phase expansion is expected to boost the port's accommodation capacity to two million TEUs annually, according to the report, which does not attribute that expectation to a named source.

With phase one complete, DP World is due to commence the second phase expansion, the report said. It does not say the second phase has started.

## The Ethiopia link

According to the report, Ethiopia depends on Djibouti for 95 per cent of its imports and exports, a figure the report does not attribute to a named source. Last May, DP World agreed with the Ethiopian Ministry of Transport to develop a road linking Berbera port to Ethiopia, the report said. It does not state that construction has started.

According to Ethiopian officials, the road project due for completion later this year would serve as an alternative corridor for Ethiopia and allow imports from the Somaliland port to enter Ethiopia "directly, quickly and efficiently". The road is not named. Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said the corridor's development would meet the country's increasing demand for international trade.

In addition to the terminal expansion, Somaliland is building a Berbera free trade zone and corridor, and major road projects intended to connect it mainly with Ethiopia, the report said. It does not give a contractor, funder or status for those works.

## Investment and recognition claims

DP World previously said it has committed to invest as much as $440 million to develop and expand Berbera port, per the report. That is a stated commitment, not a figure for money spent, and the report gives no total project cost.

Ismail Shirwac, head of Cooperation and Development Partnerships at Somaliland's Mission in Kenya, said the Berbera expansion transforms the port into a significant regional trade hub and increases its capacity to serve not only Somaliland but the entire Horn of Africa. He also said several companies had previously expressed interest in investing in Berbera port before DP World was awarded the tender for offering the best deal, a recollection for which the report provides no tender record. Shirwac further believes the port investments could eventually bring Somaliland closer to its long-awaited international recognition. That is his opinion, not a reported outcome.

The report notes that Somaliland proclaimed itself an independent state after the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1991 and is not internationally recognised.

> **Note:** The report was published on 2021-06-28 and does not establish what has happened at Berbera since. It gives no specific calendar date for the Thursday inauguration, no name for the president of Ethiopia's Somali region who attended, no contractor or funder detail for the free trade zone, corridor and road projects, and no name for the road due for completion later that year.

## Questions

### What did Ethiopian officials say about the Berbera corridor?

According to Ethiopian officials, the road project due for completion later this year would serve as an alternative corridor for Ethiopia and allow imports from the Somaliland port to enter Ethiopia directly, quickly and efficiently, as reported by Wardheer News on 2021-06-28.

### What capacity does the new Berbera terminal claim?

Somaliland and DP World officials said the terminal raises Berbera's container capacity to 500,000 TEUs annually from the current 150,000 TEUs. The report does not independently verify those figures.

### How does this affect regional port competition?

The report frames Berbera as an alternative to Djibouti for Ethiopian trade and cites Ethiopian officials saying the corridor would meet rising demand for international trade. It does not provide data on actual cargo diversion.

## Sources

- [Ethiopia hopes Somaliland port terminal reduces dependence on Djibouti](https://wardheernews.com/ethiopia-hopes-somaliland-port-terminal-reduces-dependence-on-djibouti/) — Wardheer News, 2021-06-28