Major terminal opens

DP World and the Government of Somaliland inaugurated the new container terminal at Berbera Port, following completion of the first phase of the port’s expansion.

“The new container terminal with a deep draft of 17m, a quay of 400m and three ship to shore (STS) gantry cranes, can handle the largest container vessels in operation today, and increases the port’s container capacity from current 150,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) to 500,000 TEUs annually,” said DP World

The terminal includes a container yard with eight rubber tyred gantry cranes (RTGs). A new port One Stop Service Centre is also currently being built and will be ready in Q3 this year.

DP World has committed to investing up to US$442m to develop and expand Berbera Port, and with the first phase now complete, work is already underway to further expand the port in a second phase. This includes extending the new quay from 400 to 1,000 metres, and installing a further seven STS gantry cranes, increasing the total from three to 10, enabling the port to handle up to two million TEUs a year, and multiple large container vessels at the same time.

The terminal opening ceremony included a symbolic ground-breaking for the new Berbera Economic Zone, the first phase of which is under construction.

Modelled on DP World’s Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, the economic zone is linked to the port and strategically located along the Berbera to Wajaale road (Berbera Corridor). The economic zone will serve as a centre of trade with the aim to attract investment and create jobs, and will target a range of industries, including warehousing, logistics, traders, manufacturers, and other related sectors.

The Berbera Corridor road upgrade project, and the Hargeisa Bypass Road, are set for completion in quarter four, 2021 and quarter three 2022, respectively.