Ethiopia, Somaliland Sign Berbera Port Accord

On 5 April 2016, Goobjoog News reported that Ethiopia signed a deal to boost trade through Somaliland's Berbera port amid congestion at a facility in neighboring Djibouti. The report, which Goobjoog News credited to Bloomberg, was based on statements from officials including Ethiopia's Transport Minister Workneh Gebeyehu and Sharmarke Jama, an economy and trade adviser for the foreign ministry in the semi-autonomous Somali region.

The agreement was signed on 31 March, though the Goobjoog News report does not restate the year. Tariffs have been revised and a committee established to manage joint operations as part of the agreement, the report said, citing the accord. The committee will work on the "smooth implementation of the bilateral agreement and for improved facilitation of transit trade along the corridor," Sharmarke Jama said.

Jama said Somaliland's government has shortlisted Bollore SA, P&O, owned by DP World, MSC Group's Terminal Investment Ltd, and Prime Africa for a Berbera renovation project. The report does not say whether any of these companies was selected, awarded a contract, or invested. No contract value, total project cost, or investment figure for Berbera appears in the report.

Ethiopia's Transport Minister Workneh Gebeyehu said that as much as 97 percent of shipments were still going through Djibouti because of problems with the capacity and condition of Berbera's port, the poor state of roads to Ethiopia, and the lack of international recognition for Somaliland's statehood claims. "Now we have really negotiated the issue and decided to go very fast to use Berbera port," he said by phone. "The only thing that is left is the operational issues."

A five-year growth plan published by Ethiopia in 2010 targeted 30 percent of trade via Berbera by July the previous year, the report said. It does not reconcile that target with the transport minister's 97 percent figure for Djibouti.

The Berbera Port Authority held discussions with U.S. Agency for International Development officials about aid imports, Jama said. The report does not state that these discussions produced an agreement, funding, or import program.

According to the UN, the facility delivered 40,000 metric tons of wheat in February through Berbera for the UN World Food Programme to distribute to Ethiopians. The report does not provide an annual throughput figure for Berbera based on that monthly delivery.

Workneh said there is a plan for coal imports to go through the port, but the report does not say the plan has started. He also said Port Sudan is already receiving fertilizer for northern areas of Ethiopia.

It is unclear how many ships carrying Ethiopian cargo Berbera will be able to handle, the report said, without giving port capacity or vessel-handling data. The Goobjoog News report does not establish that the accord has been implemented, that construction or renovation work at Berbera started or was completed, or that Ethiopia shifted 30 percent of its trade to Berbera.