# Turkish contractor Metag Holding signs Hobyo port deal

> Global Construction Review reported on 9 October 2024 that Metag Holding agreed to expand Hobyo port and run it for 80 years.

- 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: Infrastructure and Services
- Tags: ports, drainage
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/turkish-contractor-metag-hobyo-port-deal

## Key points

- On 9 October 2024, Global Construction Review reported that Turkish contractor Metag Holding signed an agreement to expand the Somali port of Hobyo.
- The deal with Hobyo Investment Company would let Metag run the port for 80 years, aiming to turn Hobyo into a regional trade hub.
- The report does not establish any progress since that date; no construction, funding value, or timeline was provided.

Global Construction Review reported on 9 October 2024 that Turkish contractor Metag Holding signed an agreement to expand the ancient Somali port of Hobyo, citing Kenyan newspaper The Star.

Metag’s counterparty is the Hobyo Investment Company. The reported deal would see Metag run the port for 80 years, according to Global Construction Review.

The stated aim, as reported, is to turn the settlement of Hobyo, population 11,000, into a regional trade hub. The project is also intended to offer Ethiopia an alternative outlet to Djibouti and to decongest the port of Mogadishu. In addition, Global Construction Review reported that the port would give Somalia better access to markets for its principal exports: livestock destined for the Middle East, bananas and other agricultural produce.

The Hobyo project has been under discussion for a number of years. In 2020, Global Construction Review reported that a Qatar-backed project had been superseded by a public-private plan, which resulted four years later in the Metag contract.

If the port and an associated economic zone go ahead, it would help cement the position of the state of Galmudug, which has tense relations with the federal government in Mogadishu and the state of Puntland to the north, the report said.

The article’s further reading mentions a $170m port scheme in Somalia, but Global Construction Review does not link that value to the Hobyo project specifically.

The report does not establish what has happened since 9 October 2024. It provides no contract value, construction timeline, or evidence of work starting. The agreement’s details, including terms, conditions, and signatories, are not disclosed in the source. The current status of the project remains unclear from the reporting.

## Questions

### Which contractor signed the Hobyo port agreement?

Turkish contractor Metag Holding, according to Global Construction Review's report on 9 October 2024.

### Who is Metag Holding's counterparty in the Hobyo deal?

The Hobyo Investment Company, as reported by Global Construction Review.

### What is the stated aim of the Hobyo port project?

To turn Hobyo into a regional trade hub, offer Ethiopia an alternative to Djibouti, and decongest Mogadishu port, according to Global Construction Review.

## Sources

- [Turkish contractor to create regional port hub in Somalia](https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/turkish-contractor-to-create-regional-port-hub-in-somalia/) — Global Construction Review, 2024-10-09