Araweelo News Network
A cargo ship being loaded in the port of Berbera in Somaliland. Photo: ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The two parties have signed a term-sheet agreement to form a joint venture company that will “invest and manage” and transform the port into a “regional and logistic hub,” according to DP World statement sent to Gulf News on Wednesday.
It is understood the agreement was signed during a recent visit to DP World’s offices in Dubai by Somaliland officials.
Somaliland’s Vice President Abdirahman Sayli was reportedly in the UAE last week. Somaliland is an autonomous and impoverished region in the Horn of Africa.
The agreement is non binding but sets the basic terms for the investment that includes investing $442 million in the port “over time.”
The investment is dependent on the port’s performance, the statement said, and will also include the setting up of a free zone.
The development of the Port of Berbera “will provide an additional gateway for Ethiopia that is needed for its growth and serve other land-locked countries along the east coast of Africa,” DP World said.
In March 2015, Dubai-owned P&O Ports said it had entered into “preliminary discussions” with the government of Somaliland to develop ports in the region.
P&O Ports is a sister company of DP World but does not share the same ownership structure.
DP World is owned by Dubai investment company Dubai World while P&O Ports is owned by state entity Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC).
Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem is the chairman of DP World and PCFC.
DP World is among the world’s largest ports operators, managing marine and inland terminals across six continents. It has recently added new capacity in markets such as Turkey’s Yarimca, Stuttgart in Germany, Prince Rupert in Canada and at its flagship port at home in Jebel Ali.
Somaliland seeks international recognition for its claim of independence from the rest of Somalia. It broke away in 1991 after the overthrow of Somali dictator Siad Barre.
Dubai government-backed DP World is one of the world’s largest seaport operators, with interests in more than 70 marine terminals on six continents.
