In brief
- Somaliland Standard reported on 2019-12-23 that Transport Minister Abdillahi Abokor Osman and RDA officials toured ongoing Burao-Erigavo road construction and launched the third phase linking Garadag and Fadhi-gab.
- Ministry officials said work was ongoing and most parts completed; the report does not state a contract value, funding source, contractor or completion date.
- The report does not establish what has happened to the road since 2019-12-23.
On 23 December 2019, Somaliland Standard reported that Somaliland's Minister of Transport and Road Development, Abdillahi Abokor Osman, toured ongoing construction of the highway connecting Burao and Erigavo towns, accompanied by the Manager Director and his deputy of the Road Development Agency (RDA).
The report says the delegation was touring the Sanaag region and spoke at locations along the road, including Fadhibab in Garadag district. According to Somaliland Standard, the minister officially launched the third phase of the Erigavo highway, which links the towns of Garadag and Fadhi-gab.
What the report records
Ministry of transport officials and engineers in charge of building the road, who spoke during the occasion and were not individually named, said work is ongoing and had completed work on most parts, according to Somaliland Standard. The same report attributes to officials overseeing the works the statement that more than 200 well-trained workers are undertaking the construction work, and that six workers have been lost due to diseases, sunstroke and snakebites. Neither figure is independently confirmed in the report.
The managing director of the Road Development Authority Agency (RDA) gave in-depth details on the progress of the construction works, Somaliland Standard reported. The RDA manager said the transport minister is visiting and monitoring ongoing road works at the end of 2019.
Local administration officials and elders in Garadag said they were very pleased with progress of the construction of the road between Erigavo and Burao, according to the report. The elders of Garadag expressed gratitude to former President Ahmed Silanyo's government, whose government began the construction of the Erigavo road, and acknowledged and lauded President Muse Bihi's government for taking over where the previous government left, according to Somaliland Standard.
What the report does not establish
The report does not state a contract value, total project cost, funding source, contractor or consultant for the third phase or for the wider Burao-Erigavo highway. It gives no start date, target completion date, length or engineering specification for either. It does not say what the delegation decided, ordered or budgeted.
The report does not establish what has happened to the road since 2019-12-23. No later inspection, completion, handover, delay, cost overrun or funding report is captured here, and no start-of-works documentation for the third phase is in the extract. The "officially launched" wording is as reported by Somaliland Standard.
The article page displays a "September 30, 2026" masthead and sidebar date alongside the 2019 story, and the lead paragraph is truncated mid-word. The 2026 display date is not the event date. Somaliland Standard also spells the minister's name differently in places (Abdillahi and Abdullahi Abokor Osman).
Other statements in the report
The minister said RDA staffers are the highest paid in the Somaliland civil service, with drivers, mechanics and operators best paid compared with other government agencies, according to Somaliland Standard. He also said the task ahead is to complete the Erigavo road, that Somaliland needs 938 km of roads to be built, and that the country needs to develop roads to achieve significant development. Those are the minister's statements as reported, not independently verified official statistics.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current stage of construction on the Erigavo road?
As of the 2019-12-23 Somaliland Standard report, Ministry of transport officials and engineers said work was ongoing and had completed most parts. The report does not establish the road's status after that date.
Who is funding and constructing the Burao-Erigavo road?
The report does not name a funder, contractor or consultant for any phase, including the third phase linking Garadag and Fadhi-gab.
When is the Erigavo road expected to be completed?
The report gives no target completion date for the third phase or the wider Burao-Erigavo highway.