Ethiopia, Somaliland sign accord to boost use of Berbera port

Addis Ababa, April 04, 2016 (WIC) - Ethiopia signed a deal to boost trade through
Somalilands Berbera port amid congestion at a facility in neighboring Djibouti, officials said.

Tariffs have been revised and a committee established to manage joint operations as part of the
agreement signed on March 31, Sharmarke Jama, an economy and trade adviser for the foreign
ministry of Somaliland, said on Monday.

The committee will work on the smooth implementation of the bilateral agreement and for
improved facilitation of transit trade along the corridor, he said in an e-mailed response to
questions.

Ethiopia wanted 30 percent of its trade to go via Berbera by July last year, according to a
five-year growth plan published in 2010. As much as 97 percent of shipments are still going
through Djibouti because of problems with the capacity and condition of Berberas port, the poor
state of roads to Ethiopia, said Ethiopias Transport Minister Workneh Gebeyehu.

Now we have really negotiated the issue and decided to go very fast to use Berbera port, he
said by phone. The only thing that is left is the operational issues.

It isnt clear how many ships carrying Ethiopian cargo Berbera will be able to deal with, although
there is a plan for coal imports to go through the port, Workneh said. Port Sudan is already
receiving fertilizer for northern areas of Ethiopia, he said.

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Ethiopia, Somaliland sign accord to boost use of Berbera port

The Berbera Port Authority held discussions with U.S. Agency for International Development
officials about aid imports, Jama said. The facility delivered 40,000 metric tons of wheat in
February through Berbera for the UN World Food Programme to distribute to Ethiopians,
according to the UN.

Somalilands government has shortlisted Bollore SA, P&O, which is owned by DP World, MSC
Groups Terminal Investment Ltd, and Prime Africa for a Berbera renovation project, Jama said.

Source: Bloomberg

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