Somalia President Inaugurates Gara’ad Seaport

[Deeq A.]

A dream comes true: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (second from right) officially cutting the ribbon for Gara’ad Port with Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni (first from right).

Gara’ad (PP News Desk) — The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud today inaugurated a landmark seaport in Gara’ad district eight months after the project had received a federal certification.

Funded by private investors under Wadaagsin Investors Infrastructure Fund, Gara’ad seaport is the third Somali port on Indian Ocean and with an access to several south central and north eastern and northern regions along with the Somali region of Ethiopia.

An aerial view of the inauguration ceremony at Gara’ad Port today.

The Kenya Defence Minister- Designate Aden Barre Duale, the President of the Somali region of Ethiopia Mustafe Omer and the President of South West State Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed attended the inauguration ceremony. President of Puntland State Said Abdullahi Deni welcomed dignitaries.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: “We will keep an eye on the Gara’ad road project to make sure it could be implemented within the agreed timescales.”

President Mohamud lauded the Gara’ad seaport as an initiative that speeds up the economic cooperation in the Horn of Africa. “The funds for building the road linking Gara’ad to Somalia-Ethiopia border has just been authorised. We will keep an eye on the road project to make sure it could be implemented within the agreed timescales. Ethiopia will be able to use our port infrastructures. We will import energy from a Ethiopia since it is a sector in which Ethiopia is aiming to excel in” said President Mohamud. Reflecting on the significance of the the port for economic development President Mohamud said “Somalis live on both sides of the border under different countries. It is absurd to argue that a person on side of the border should prosper while the other suffers abject poverty”.

“We are grateful to our visionary President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for his encouraging words” said a participant at the inauguration ceremony. Ali Haji Warsame, a former Presidential Candidate, has credited President Mohamud with backing Gara’ad seaport as a national achievement. “Keep succeeding, Mr President ” tweeted Warsame.

Wadaagsin Infrastructure Investment Fund has set an unprecedented example about building a seaport iroughly 300 nautical miles from Mogadishu Port. “Congratulations to the people of #Puntland and all who contributed to the opening of the #Garacad port today. With unity and cooperation, #Somalia demonstrates its commitment to economic development” tweeted the United States Embassy in Mogadishu. The former Hirshabelle President Mohamed Abdi Ware highlighted in a tweet that without a federal system in place in Somalia “the population of Puntland would have been snuffed out by the Centre. It almost did. Congratulations!”

© Puntland Post, 2022

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