Safari Zoope, Wadada Afgooye,
Banadir, Mogadishu, Somalia,
Turkish company Metag Holding signed an agreement on 7 October to collaborate with the Somali Hobyo Investment Company (HICO) on the development of the Hobyo Port and Free Zone, easing pressure on ports in Mogadishu and Bosaso.
“Once this seaport is completed, it will not only address this local need but will also create a vital business corridor linking Somalia to landlocked Ethiopia, its closest strategic partner,” said Ahmed Khadar, an economics lecturer at Somalia University in Mogadishu.
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As Mohamed Ali Warsameh, CEO of HICO, told The Africa Report: “This port is strategically important.”
Metag Holding will be responsible for the construction of the seaport and will retain a 30% stake while shares in the seaport will be available for investors, said Ahmed Abdi Kariye, the president of Galmudug State in Somalia, who was present at the signing ceremony. The project has secured an initial budget of $70m for its first phase.
The project connects the port to other regions and countries by road and it is hoped it will increase trade, especially with neighbouring Ethiopia.
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Despite current tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia, the seaport could also offer Ethiopia an alternative trade route, reducing its dependence on Djibouti, said Mohamed Husein Gaas, the director of the Raad Peace Research Institute.
“If managed effectively, this could transform the region’s trade dynamics, linking Ethiopia more closely with the Indian Ocean and boosting economic interdependence across the Horn of Africa. However, realising this vision will require careful navigation of the existing political tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia,” he said.
Soures from: https://www.theafricareport.com/364137/turkiye-secures-major-stake-in-somalias-hobyo-port/
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