In brief
- Somaliland Standard reported on 2020-06-14 that the Ministry of Roads and Transport had received 7,690 barrels of tar or bitumen.
- The report attributed to Eng. Ahmed Yusuf Mohamed the statement that the Burao-Erigavo road was about to be completed with about 60 km un-tarmacked.
- No subsequent status update on delivery, laying or use, and no price or contract value, is established by the available sources.
Contents
On 14 June 2020, Somaliland Standard reported that the Ministry of Roads and Transport had received 7,690 barrels of tar or bitumen, intended for the 60 km of works remaining along the Burao-Erigavo road. The figure and the stated purpose come from that report. The report does not state a purchase price, unit price, contract value, total project cost, currency, payment terms, funding source or budget line for the bitumen, and it does not establish what has happened to the material since.
Eng. Ahmed Yusuf Mohamed, described in the report as head of the Somaliland Road Agency, said the Erigavo-Burao road was about to be completed and had about 60 km still un-tarmacked, according to Somaliland Standard. That is an operator's statement as reported on that date. It is not a completion record, and the role itself is as described by the publication, not from an independent appointment record.
What the report says about the purchase and handover
Somaliland Standard reported that the government bought the material from Omar Company, which handed it over at its Berbera depot. The report gives no date for the handover, no arrival date, no identity or contract details for Omar Company, and no terms of purchase. It also refers to a "facility" in its wording about the purchase, without clarifying what that term covers, so it cannot be read as an established quantity or asset. None of this is independently verified in the material available.
What was said about the Burao-Hargeisa road
Eng. Ahmed Yusuf Mohamed said, as reported, that the remainder of the bitumen would be used in construction of the Burao-Hargeisa road. Central bank governor Ali Ibrahim Baghdadi expressed the same view, according to the report, saying the remainder would go to the Burao-Hargeisa road once the Erigavo road is completed. These are forward-looking statements about allocation. They are not a decision, contract or executed works, and the governor's remarks are not an independent confirmation of the purchase or of the quantity.
What is not established
The available sources establish no status update after 2020-06-14 on whether the bitumen was delivered to site, laid, or used on the stated roads. There is no documented completion record for the Burao-Erigavo road, and no confirmation of any allocation decision or expenditure on the Burao-Hargeisa road. Readers tracking this material should treat the 7,690-barrel receipt, the Omar Company purchase and the Berbera handover as reported by Somaliland Standard on that date, with the open questions of price, delivery, storage and use unresolved in the record.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Burao-Erigavo road been completed?
Eng. Ahmed Yusuf Mohamed, head of the Somaliland Road Agency, said as reported by Somaliland Standard on 2020-06-14 that the road was about to be completed and had about 60 km still un-tarmacked. The sources establish no documented completion record, and no later status update.
Was the 7,690 barrels of bitumen actually delivered and used?
Somaliland Standard reported on 2020-06-14 that the Ministry of Roads and Transport had received 7,690 barrels of tar or bitumen, and that Omar Company handed it over at its Berbera depot. The report states no handover date, and no subsequent status update on delivery to site, laying or use is established by the sources.
Who is Omar Company?
Somaliland Standard reported that the government bought the bitumen from Omar Company, which handed the material over at its Berbera depot. The report gives no identity details, contract details or purchase terms for the company.