Dec. 23 (SomalilandPress)- Bolloré Africa Logistics, a unit of Bollore SA, may sign an agreement to manage the port of Berbera and oversee $700 million of upgrades to the facility in Somalia’s breakaway northern Somaliland region, Abdillahi Duale, the foreign minister, said.
“Our discussions are already in an advanced stage,” Duale said today in an interview in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “We have already made a basic agreement.”
Representatives of Bolloré, an investment company controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bollore, have met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Somaliland President Dahir Riyale to discuss the agreement which will probably be signed next year, he said. Berbera port handles food aid and other cargo bound for landlocked Ethiopia.
Port revenue provides approximately 75 percent of the Somaliland government’s $50 million in annual revenue. Somaliland, a former British protectorate that merged with Italy’s Somali colony in 1960 to form Somalia, has remained largely free of violence during the 18-year civil war in central and southern Somalia.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg on pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
Source: Bloomberg
This is major development for Somaliland and neighbouring Ethiopia because Somaliland will have state of the art facility that handles modern needs, it will also serve Ethiopia's interest because they no longer have to deal with port of Djibouti's monoply games. Competition is good for the whole region and because of Berbera's location, soon or later someone will invest multi-million dollars, if it's not Bollore, it will be someone from the Gulf such as Kuwait or Qatar.
Let's hope they move ahead and sign it.
This is nothing more than another lie coming out of the corrupt Riyale administration just in time for the election
Couldn't agree more, Warfaa. He can't do now what he didn't do in 7 years. It is too little too late.
La hubsayow goroyow haad bey noqotey.
Marka dorasho la soo qadaba waxaa bilaabma mashariicda beenta ee dadweynaha lagu khaweysinayow. Riyaale iyo regiimkisaba la bareyow GOROYOW…………..
I have commented earlier, but it have been deleted. What is this, Somaliland Press? You ask people to comment and we do. But then again, some comments are deleted even though they are not offensive. Other posted comments stay on even though they are sometimes very offensive. You have already stated that people’s opinions are their own and Somaliland Press has nothing to do with it. So, why are you censoring some and not others? Isn’t it a double standard?
People agree or disagree with topics posted. And that is what Freedom of speech meaning. Otherwise, we are kiddy ourselves!!
You know what, I am done and out of here. Why bother?
Not only this comment but many times over.