# Somaliland government evaluates construction machinery options in China

> Somaliland Sun reported on 2013-08-20 that a three-member team was in China comparing prices and quality of road-building machinery.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 1 October 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Business and Costs
- Tags: procurement, underbidding
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/somaliland-government-evaluates-machinery-options-china

## Key points

- On 20 August 2013, Somaliland Sun reported that a three-member assessment team had been in China for over a fortnight comparing prices and quality of road construction machinery.
- The report mentions no contract, purchase, tender award, price, quantity or funding source.
- Somaliland Sun's report does not establish what has happened since 2013 regarding the acquisition of machinery or expansion of the road network.

On 20 August 2013, Somaliland Sun reported, in a report by Yusuf M Hasan for Somaliland Sun, that the Somaliland administration had dispatched an assessment team to China to acquire state-owned construction machinery. The purpose, according to the report, was to expand Somaliland's road network, which the report said required state-owned machinery because all current road works were undertaken by private contractors.

The three-member team comprised Somaliland Road Authority Manager Prof Hasan Ali Osman, National Tender Board Chairman Aden Abdilahi Nugaal, and Personal Secretary to the presidency minister Sharmarke Ahmed Muhumed, the report stated. Somaliland Sun reported that the team had been in China for over a fortnight and had visited several companies to compare prices and quality of desired road construction machinery. Photographs of the visit were available via a link, the report added.

The report stated that since President Silanyo's administration came to power, the road network had seen improvement through rehabilitation or new construction, as per campaign pledges from the 2010 presidential election campaigns. Planned machinery was described as mostly Caterpillars, rollers and tipper trucks among others. With the machinery, the government expected to expand the road network faster and more broadly, according to the report.

> **Note:** The report does not state that any machinery was purchased, that a contract was signed or that a tender was awarded. It carries no price, quantity or funding source.

What the report does not establish is what happened next. It does not name the companies visited, give a departure date or an intended length of stay, or cite any primary government record confirming the dispatch. Nor does it state whether any acquisition followed. The question of whether machinery was ever bought, and what became of the plans, remains open on the evidence of the 2013 report.

## Questions

### What types of machinery are being considered?

Somaliland Sun reported on 2013-08-20 that the planned machinery comprised mostly Caterpillars, rollers and tipper trucks among others.

### Which government agencies are involved?

The three-member team included the Somaliland Road Authority, the National Tender Board and the Office of the Presidency, according to Somaliland Sun reported on 2013-08-20.

### What projects are intended to use the machinery?

The report stated the machinery was intended for expanding Somaliland's road network, but did not name specific projects.

## Sources

- [Somaliland: Government Window Shopping Construction Machinery in China](https://somalilandsun.com/somaliland-government-window-shopping-construction-machinery-in-china/) — Somaliland Sun, 2013-08-20