- The soporific seaside town of Berbera is slowly changing as it takes
on a major role on the Red Sea shipping route, allowing breakaway
Somaliland to dream of prosperity and even recognition.
At the Berbera port, dozens of containers are stacked on a
sun-scorched platform and a few cranes creakily transfer sacks of
sorghum and other goods from a rusting cargo ship. The facilities are far from modern, but Somaliland hopes its position
on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes will turn the state into a
job-creating dynamo — and encourage international recognition 27-years
after it split from Somalia.
Somaliland’s ambitions were boosted in March when it struck a deal
giving Dubai port giant DP World a 51-percent stake in the port and
Ethiopia 19 percent.
DP World says it plans to invest $442 million (377 million euros) to
modernise the port, with a first extension of 400 square metres (4,300
square feet) to begin in October that is expected to take 24 months.
“The benefit we expect from the development of the port is jobs. We
expect to get many foreign investors to … generate employment and income
for us,” said Saad Ali Shire, the Somaliland minister of foreign
affairs.
He said the port has long been the main source of revenue for the government of the breakaway state.
Nevertheless the arrival of DP World has been a “cultural shock” for
those used to the slow pace of business at the port, admits Said Hassan
Abdullahi, director general of the port authority.
“There has been a big change … in terms of volume of containers. Since they took over we got more customers,” he said.
– Ethiopia eyes sea access –
The deal has seen the number of containers transiting through Berbera
double to 100,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), a standard
measurement in shipping.
Abdullahi predicts that the investment will cause throughput to
increase fivefold — a figure that will bring Berbera closer to the
capacity of nearby Djibouti’s ultra-modern ports which handle around
980,000 TEU per year.
The development will be a boon not only to Somaliland but also its
landlocked neighbour Ethiopia — a fast-growing economy with a population
of 100 million people that is eyeing new ports across the region to
export its goods.
Cut off from the coast since former province Eritrea won independence
in 1993, prompting a violent border conflict, Ethiopia funnels 95
percent of its trade through Djibouti.
But now a breakneck peace process with Eritrea has also opened up new
trade routes through its ports of Massawa and Assab, which with the
developments in Berbera could reshape trade in the Horn of Africa
region.
Somaliland, which avoided the anarchy and chaos Somalia has
experienced over the past three decades, “is well positioned to have a
more influential role when it comes to economic and trade issues,” said
Ahmed Soliman, a researcher at the London-based Chatham House
think-tank.
However the DP World deal has angered Somalia, which does not
recognise Somaliland’s independence and declared it unconstitutional.
Shire said the deal had affected ongoing talks between Mogadishu and Hargeisa, which had been expected to resume in March.
– Regional influence –
He said DP World had showed trust in Somaliland, expressing hope this
could inspire confidence in the state and lead to formal recognition.
“I think it will be recognised at the end of the day, because we have
a legal right, an historic right, a moral right to be recognised,” said
Shire.
DP World’s presence in Berbera is also a sign of the increasing
engagement of the United Arab Emirates in the Horn of Africa, which has
become key to its strategic interests over the past three years, said
Soliman.
Somaliland has given the UAE a 25-year concession to build a military
base in Berbera that it could use in the war it is waging alongside
Saudi Arabia against the Iranian-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen.
“The war in Yemen … was a key driver of engagement across the Horn of Africa,” said Soliman.
Somaliland now finds itself in the middle of a struggle for influence
in the region which also includes major players like Turkey and its
ally Qatar — which is embroiled in a bitter spat with its Gulf
neighbours.
In June 2017 the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt broke off
diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing terrorism, which Doha
denies.
Some in Somaliland worry about the price they may have to pay for
their links with the UAE, but Shire brushes aside their concerns.
“Of course, carrying foreign forces on your soil always carries a
risk,” he said. “(But) we believe that the benefits are more than the
risks.”
AFP
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