Somaliland: Govt. suspends UAE military facility work at Berbera

[Deeq A.]

BERBERA– Government has suspended planned works for the UAE military facility at the port city of Bebera according to local reports.

The workers at Berbera airport who were on duty to build the facility which was under construction were told to halt the building of the UAE military facility yesterday morning. Berbera mayor Hon. Abdishakur Idin accompanied by the head of Sahil regional police commander went to the airport and informed all workers to stop the building which was underway until further notice. Who gave the order of the suspension of UAE military facility in Berbera is still unclear as far as the situation is concerned.

Former Somaliland administration led by Ahmed Silanyo inked a deal with UAE govt to build a military base in Berbera. It also paved the way for Dubai Ports World to takeover the management of Berbera port for at least 30 years. The UAE and Somaliland authority are locked horns over the terms of the agreement which the two sides signed in the UAE. Somaliland authority argues that the first thing first is  repairing and refurbishing of the road linking Berbera to Wajale, known as the Berbera corridor but DPW is dragging its feet as reports indicate.

Tog Wajale is a commercial hub which links Ethiopia to Somaliland as Ethiopia, a landlocked country has purchased a stake at Berbera investment to heavily bank on its import and export. The long term plan of DPW is to implement a dry port free zone in Wajale as part of the agreement reached between the two sides. The bone of contention is that the UAE sticks to the Memorandum of Understating signed with former president and calls on the incumbent president Bihi to honor the previous deal.