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Kismayo's port, power, water and fish trade

Bulshadaa isu keentay · PLACES · 13 min read · 2026-09-29

Waxaa isu keenay wax-ku-biiriyayaal bulsho iyagoo ka duulaya ilo dadweyne. Tirooyinku waxay noqon karaan qiyaaso — si madax-bannaan u xaqiiji ka hor inta aadan ku tiirsan.

Tusmada
  1. Summary
  2. Where Xidig members may contribute
  3. Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles
  4. Who may find this useful
  5. What exists in Kismayo today
  6. Geographic context
  7. Dependencies and implementation constraints
  8. Risks and unknowns
  9. Questions members should verify before acting
  10. What is confirmed, and what isn't
  11. Relevant next steps
  12. More about the source
  13. Notes on figures
  14. Related reports
  15. About this report
  16. Sources

What already exists in Kismayo's port, airport, power, water and fish trade, where members fit, and the six federal government proposals that name the town.

Not investment advice. Independent analysis of a government publication and other public sources. It is not an offer or a tender notice, and the Government of Somalia has not endorsed it.

Summary

Kismayo, Somalia's southernmost major port and the seat of Jubaland's administration, already has work under way: a power company with a solar-and-battery upgrade in preparation (2025), a working fish market, a donor-funded water project and a port operator that says it holds a concession. For members, the most practical openings are in power, water, fish handling and port logistics.

What Xidig found:

  • Power: a solar-and-battery project for one of the town's power companies, 6 MW of solar and 9.8 MWh of storage, was listed under a World Bank programme in February 2025, with tender documents being prepared. Xidig found no contract award.
  • Fish: a fish market at Calanley, planned to open in July 2021, was included in a 2025 fish-price survey, and Kismayo is among the sites of the World Bank's BADMAAL fisheries project.
  • Water: drinking water came from a few private desalination plants in 2020, and an African Development Bank project for Kismayo and Baidoa covers boreholes, pipelines, a treatment plant and kiosks.
  • Port and airport: most available figures date from 2020 or earlier, when about 80% of port facilities were reported non-operational. Xidig found no recent throughput figures.
  • Politics: relations between Jubaland's administration and the federal government have been strained since late 2024, and talks in October 2025 ended without agreement, which may affect how any new project moves forward.

Kismayo also appears in six of the federal government's proposals, covering the airport, an HFO power plant, fish processing, a fishing port, port modernisation and a trade corridor, none with a cost for Kismayo alone; details are under More about the source.

Where Xidig members may contribute

Learning, service and collaboration openings, not confirmed contracts or tenders:

  • Solar and battery skills: installation, operation and maintenance, if the planned upgrade proceeds.
  • Water: desalination maintenance, water kiosks and quality testing.
  • Fish handling: ice, cold rooms and hygiene at Calanley market (see Cold chain for fish, milk and meat in Somalia).
  • Port and customs logistics: clearing, warehousing and export paperwork for livestock and citrus.
  • Local knowledge: members from Kismayo can report current prices, power costs and which projects are actually running.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

  • A shared ice or cold room at a Kismayo landing site, run with a fishing cooperative.
  • Maintenance contracts for solar, battery or desalination equipment.
  • A local data project: members collect current power, water and fish prices to fill the gaps in this report.
  • Research: who holds the port concession, and on what terms.

Who may find this useful

  • Diaspora members from Kismayo and Lower Juba.
  • Solar and electrical engineers.
  • Water engineers and technicians.
  • Fish traders, cooperatives and cold-chain suppliers.
  • Logistics, customs and port professionals.

What exists in Kismayo today

Population. Figures vary widely.

  • The 2014 population survey put Kismayo district at 162,733. A data aggregator that reproduces it warns that the reliability of such figures "is low".
  • Jubaland's interior ministry estimated a "total urban population of 540,402, Including 113,642 returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)" (UN-Habitat urban profile, 2020).
  • A February 2024 verification counted 187,479 people in 197 displacement sites in Kismayo.

Port.

  • Operator: Kismayo Port Company describes itself as a joint venture with the government of Jubaland operating under a concession. It lists "exporting citrus and livestock" as a secondary focus.
  • Condition in 2020: UN-Habitat's 2020 urban profile said the port "can accommodate vessels of up to 10,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT)". It also said "approximately 80% of port facilities are non-operational".
  • Traffic: only 83 vessels berthed in 2016, all bringing imports.
  • Charcoal: UN-Habitat (2020) described charcoal as Kismayo's "largest natural resource for export". A UN ban on Somali charcoal exports has applied since 2012.
  • Recent data: Xidig found no recent throughput figures.

Airport.

  • Status in 2020: the 2020 profile called Kismayo airport "one of the four fully functioning international airports in Somalia". It had "15 to 20 passenger flights" a week, and cargo was "almost non existing".
  • Customs offices: in August 2024 Jubaland's finance ministry tendered the construction of customs offices at the airport, funded by the UK's FCDO.
  • Flight restrictions: in December 2024 the federal government banned flights between Nairobi and Kismayo. In September 2025 both sides were reported to have agreed to resume air travel between Kismayo and other Somali cities. Xidig could not confirm that flights resumed.

Electricity.

  • Supply in 2020: in 2020, two private companies, Wesco and Somtel, had about 2,400 kW of generating capacity serving about 12,500 customer connections. About a third of residents had access.
  • Planned upgrade: the World Bank's Somali Electricity Sector Recovery Project (mission report, February 2025) lists a solar-and-battery project for the Wamo Electricity Supply Company (WESCO) in Kismayo: 6 MW of solar and 9.8 MWh of storage, estimated at US$8.1M. Tender documents were being prepared.
  • Environmental study: a November 2024 environmental study for the same plant (which spells the company "Waamo Energy Service Company") describes a slightly different 10.6 MW hybrid of solar, batteries and generators.
  • Status: Xidig found no contract award.
  • Fit with the government's proposal: none of this appears in the HFO proposal, which would add 100 MW to a town that had about 2.4 MW of generating capacity in 2020.

Fish.

  • Calanley fish market: a German-funded project (GIZ, 2016–2022) said a new fish market in Calanley (spelled Alanley in the source) would open from July 2021. The project also trained 150 fishers and fish sellers in the use of cold chains and hygienic fish handling, and introduced glass-fibre fish-drying frames.
  • Market in operation: a 2025 fish-price survey for the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy includes Calanley market.
  • Boats and gear: FAO and USAID gave fishing cooperatives in Kismayo fibreglass motorised boats and gear, with Jubaland's fisheries ministry.
  • World Bank fisheries project: Kismayo (Calanley and Kibora) is among the sites of the World Bank's BADMAAL fisheries project (see Somalia's fisheries: vessels, processing and landing sites).

Water.

  • Current supply: in 2020, "All drinking water comes from few private desalination plants", sold at about US$5 per 1,000 litres.
  • AfDB project: an African Development Bank project for Kismayo and Baidoa (approved 2019) covers 20 boreholes across both towns, 50 km of main pipelines and 40 km of distribution network, a 5,000 m³/day treatment plant in Kismayo and 10 kiosks. It had a progress report on additional financing in June 2025.

Political context. In November 2024 Jubaland's administration suspended relations and cooperation with the federal government. Talks between the two leaders in Kismayo in October 2025 ended without agreement. All six proposals are promoted by federal institutions. The proposals do not say how they would be agreed with Jubaland's administration.

What this means. Kismayo already has a port operator, a power company with a planned solar upgrade, a working fish market and a donor-funded water project. The government's proposals are larger in scale but do not refer to any of them. Any investor would first need to know who holds each concession and which level of government would sign.

Geographic context

Fur cabbirka buuxa

Kismayo is Somalia's southernmost major port, about 400 km south-west of Mogadishu in a straight line.

Kismayo is the main city of Lower Juba and the seat of Jubaland's administration. Its port serves Lower Juba, and its airport has had flights to Nairobi. The six proposals cover the airport, the port, the power supply and the fish trade, all within a few kilometres of each other.

Dependencies and implementation constraints

  • Agreement between governments: federal ministries promote the proposals; Jubaland's administration runs the town, and the port operator says it holds a concession from Jubaland's administration.
  • Existing concessions: the port has an operator, and the power company already has a planned upgrade.
  • Security: conditions along the roads out of Kismayo affect trade and construction.
  • Fuel: a 100 MW HFO plant would depend on imported fuel through the port.

Risks and unknowns

  • Costs: none of the shared proposals gives a cost for Kismayo.
  • Relations: relations between Jubaland and the federal government since November 2024 are unresolved.
  • Old data: most port, airport and power figures date from 2020 or earlier.
  • Flights: whether regular flights now run between Kismayo and Mogadishu.

Questions members should verify before acting

  1. Who holds the port concession today, and what does it cover?
  2. Has the WESCO solar-and-battery tender been awarded?
  3. Is the Calanley market's cold chain still working?
  4. Which authority issues permits for a new business in Kismayo?
  5. What do power and water cost per unit today?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

  • The six proposals, their printed costs and their pre-feasibility stage.
  • The WESCO solar-and-battery project in World Bank documents (2025) and its environmental study (2024).
  • The Calanley fish market (planned for July 2021; operating in 2025).
  • The AfDB Kismayo–Baidoa water project.
  • The February 2024 displacement-site count.

Our interpretation

  • The government's proposals are larger than, and separate from, what is already happening in the town.
  • Power, water and fish handling are the most practical member roles.

Not yet verified

  • The terms of the port concession.
  • Current port traffic and airport flights.
  • Whether the solar-and-battery plant has been contracted.

Relevant next steps

  • Follow the federal Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and the World Bank electricity project for the WESCO tender.
  • Kismayo members: share current prices and project news through Xidig.
  • Note your skills and location in Xidig so groups working on Kismayo can find you.

More about the source

The government's investment booklet, Bankable Projects 2026–2030 (MoPIED / SOMINVEST), is one of the sources for this report. The details it gives are summarised here as printed.

  • Renovation of Existing Airports (AV-01, pp.24–25). "Rehabilitation of four local airports (Kismayo, Baidoa, Beledweyne, and Dhuusamareeb) to increase runway length, expand terminals, & improve air control tower operations." One driver is to "Increase cargo handling to 120,000 tonnes per airport". US$16.5M; 5 years.
  • Mogadishu, Kismayu, Garacad and Bosasso HFO Power Plant (EN-03, pp.33–34). An "HFO power plant based on Rolls Royce Bergen Engines" of 100 MW in each town. US$450M for all four; 24-month build. It is the only sheet in this group whose tick box says "Feasibility Started".
  • Fisheries Processing Hubs (FI-02, pp.46–47). "3 Processing Hubs and Economic Zones in Mogadishu, Kismayo, and Bossaso", offering "tax incentives, clean water, equipment for rent, waste management, and reliable energy". US$12.6M for all three.
  • Construction of New Fishing Ports (FI-03, pp.48–49). New fishing ports "in 3 sites: Mogadishu Port, Kismayo Port, and Gara'ad Port". The sheet says the project "is currently in early-stage, highly confidential discussions with private partners". US$20.7M for all three.
  • Modernisation of Existing Ports (LI-05, pp.59–60). "Upgrading existing ports in Bosaso, Gara'ad, and Kismayo with modern mechanization, new berths, warehousing, & enhanced cargo handling capacity." US$551.2M for all three.
  • Construction of New Trade Corridors (LI-02, pp.53–54). New asphalt roads linking border towns with port cities. One driver is to "Support industrial clusters in Hobyo, Kismayo, and Mogadishu". Cost printed "$1,209 B"¹.

Two details worth noticing.

  • Kismayo is not one of the three proposed deep seaports, but that sheet (LI-03, p.56) lists "Established port with multiple berths (Mogadishu and Kismayo)" among the existing infrastructure it would build on.

  • The port-modernisation sheet does not mention the company that runs Kismayo port today (see What exists in Kismayo today).

  • Primary source: MoPIED / SOMINVEST, Bankable Projects 2026–2030, posted 19 Nov 2025. Fact sheets at PDF pp.24–25, 33–34, 46–49, 53–56 and 59–60.

  • Promoters: SOMINVEST with the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (AV-01), the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (EN-03), the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy (FI-02, FI-03) and the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Housing (LI-02, LI-05).

  • Stage: pre-feasibility on all six sheets. The HFO sheet's tick box says "Feasibility Started".

Notes on figures

¹ Printed as "$1,209 B" (PDF p.53). The booklet gives its other costs in millions ("M"), for example "$551.2 M" for port modernisation on p.59. Read literally, the figure would be more than a thousand billion US dollars. It is therefore most likely a formatting error, possibly for US$1.209 billion; see Somalia's roads and trade corridors for the ministry's own figures. Xidig has not changed the figure; it should be confirmed with the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Housing.

About this report

By Xidig members and collaborators.

Project codes. Codes such as EN-04 or AG-05 are Xidig's own shorthand for the booklet's fact sheets, by sector; the booklet itself does not number its projects.

How we researched it. We read the full 97-page booklet and checked every figure, page reference and quotation used here against it. We then compared the booklet's claims with the official, international, academic and news sources listed below, and we say where they differ. We did not interview anyone for this report.

Corrections. If you spot an error, please tell us using the correction link on this page.

Sources

Primary

Supporting

Source notes

  • Kismayo's population is uncertain; the figures above use different areas and methods.
  • Several pages could not be opened, including a 2024 port assessment and an August 2024 update of the displacement count.