# Shafa Al Nahda details staffing for DP World Berbera contract

> Somaliland Standard reported on 2018-10-30 that Shafa Al Nahda outlined a staffing plan for DP World's Berbera expansion, with no figures or timeline.

- 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: People and Skills
- Tags: construction-workforce, skills-gaps, contractor-experience
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/shafa-al-nahda-staffing-dp-world-berbera

## Key points

- On 30 October 2018, Somaliland Standard reported that Shafa Al Nahda Contracting is the main contractor expanding DP World's Port of Berbera and outlined a staffing plan.
- General manager Mohammed Nasser said key positions would be filled by skilled staff from abroad, integrated with local labour, and that the local market's skillset is at present limited to a basic level.
- The report gives no contract value, employment numbers, hiring timeline, start date or completion date, and does not establish what has happened since.

On 30 October 2018, Somaliland Standard reported that Shafa Al Nahda Contracting, described as the main contractor expanding DP World's Port of Berbera in Somaliland, had set out how it planned to employ staff for the project. The staffing details come from Mohammed Nasser, general manager of Shafa Al Nahda Contracting, as reported by Somaliland Standard.

According to that report, Shafa Al Nahda was awarded DP World's contract to expand Berbera Port, and the award was attributed to its experience of working on Port of Dakar (Senegal) and Port of Maputo (Mozambique). Its local portfolio, the report said, includes Port Rashid and Queen Elizabeth 2, also known as QE2; the geography of that portfolio is not defined in the report.

## What the staffing plan says

Nasser said, as reported by Somaliland Standard on 2018-10-30, that some staff for the project will "be coming in" from outside Somaliland, while local professionals would also play an important role in Berbera Port's expansion scheme.

He said key positions are filled with skilled staff coming from abroad, and that the contractor plans to integrate this workforce with local labour. "We want to employ [locals] and mix them with our skilled staff," he said, according to the report. Nasser said this approach will help the contractor since the local market's skillset is at present limited to a "basic level". That is his assessment; the report cites no evidence for it.

Nasser also explained, per the report, that these professionals would be employed by Shafa Al Nahda even after the project was completed.

## What the report does not establish

The report does not give employment numbers, job figures or a hiring timeline, and does not show that any local or foreign staff have been hired. It states no contract value, currency or award date, and cites no contract award notice for the Shafa Al Nahda contract. It gives no date for the ground-breaking ceremony.

The expansion scheme's Phase 1 was reported to include Shafa Al Nahda building a 400m quay and launching a 25ha yard extension, and the development of a free zone. The report does not state a timeline or completion date for those works, or a status, cost or funder for the free zone. It states no start date and no completion date.

The report said these works will be managed by DP World Berbera, in which Ethiopia has a 19% stake, as reported by Somaliland Standard. No agreement or source document for that stake is cited.

## Presidential comment

In a video produced by DP World showcasing the project's ground-breaking ceremony, President Musa Bihi Abdi of Somaliland said, as reported by Somaliland Standard, that conflicts in the Horn of Africa region had led to youth unemployment, but DP World's project would deliver long-term benefits across the region.

"[The project] will be beneficial to the whole region, [delivering] stability and the wellbeing of people," he said, according to the report. "People are [hopeful] that this project will upgrade their life, so they're very happy."

> **Note:** The staffing plan consists of statements of intent by the contractor's general manager. No employment figures, contract value or timeline are given; nothing in the 2018-10-30 report establishes what was built, hired or spent since.

## Questions

### What staffing levels are planned for the Berbera expansion?

No employment numbers or job figures are stated. Somaliland Standard's 2018-10-30 report describes a staffing plan only: some staff coming from outside Somaliland, with local professionals playing an important role.

### Where will workers come from?

Mohammed Nasser, general manager of Shafa Al Nahda Contracting, said key positions are filled with skilled staff coming from abroad, and that the contractor plans to integrate them with local labour, as reported by Somaliland Standard.

### What does this indicate about project readiness?

It indicates a contractor had set out a staffing approach. The report gives no contract value, start date, completion date or hiring timeline, and does not establish what has happened since 2018-10-30.

## Sources

- [Shafa Al Nahda outlines staffing plan for DP World contract in Somaliland](https://somalilandstandard.com/shafa-al-nahda-outlines-staffing-plan-for-dp-world-contract-in-somaliland/) — Somaliland Standard, 2018-10-30