Somalia's seaports and a proposed Mogadishu dry dock

Where Xidig members may contribute

Learning and skills opportunities, not confirmed vacancies or tenders:

• Learning: how port concessions, PPPs and revenue-sharing work, and who has authority over which port.
• Skills: ship repair and welding, marine engineering, cargo handling and crane operation, warehouse and logistics management, and port safety and security procedures.
• Research: comparing proposals with actual port capacity and traffic data, where operators publish it.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

• Ship-repair training partnerships. A dry dock would need skilled workers. The sheet itself cites "50 new jobs", and the skills would need to exist locally.
• Freight and warehousing services at existing ports, through the current operators rather than the government's list.
• Independent research on port performance and trade flows.

Who may find this useful

• Maritime engineers, marine electricians, welders and fabricators.
• Logistics, freight-forwarding and customs professionals.
• Lawyers and economists interested in concessions.
• Students in maritime studies.
• Traders who import or export through these ports.

What already exists at each port

The table below summarises public reporting found by Xidig. Confidence varies; "reported" means news coverage not confirmed by an official document.

What this means for the proposals. The booklet presents these ports as investment opportunities without referring to any of these arrangements. The deep-seaport sheet for Mogadishu may relate to the port authority's plan for a new port north of the city, but the booklet doesn't say so. At Hobyo and Barawe, separate agreements have already been announced. At Bosaso and Kismayo, existing concessions and member-state administrations are central. At Bosaso, the federal government and Puntland have taken different public positions; this report sets out both as reported and does not take a side.

Geographic context

Fur cabbirka buuxa

Port sites named in three proposals. Existing operators and administrations at several of these ports are not mentioned in the proposals.

The six sites run the length of the coast. Bosaso is on the Gulf of Aden; the other five are on the Indian Ocean. Five are in areas administered by member states: Bosaso and Garacad (Puntland), Hobyo (Galmudug), Barawe (South West State) and Kismayo (Jubaland). Mogadishu is under the Banadir Regional Administration and federal institutions.

Dependencies and implementation constraints

• Existing concessions and operators would have to be part of any upgrade, or at least consulted.
• Federal and member-state authority over ports is not addressed in the proposals.
• Hinterland roads: the deep-seaport sheet cites a "Road link" and "strategic hinterland road corridor". See Somalia's roads and trade corridors.
• Dredging, breakwaters and berths for deep-water ports are costly and technically demanding. No feasibility study is cited.
• Skills for a dry dock are scarce locally, which the dry-dock proposal itself implies by citing reliance on Dubai and Mombasa.

Risks and unknowns

• Cost notation: the deep-seaport cost is printed as "$ 1,008.3 B"¹.
• Overlap with announced deals at Hobyo and Barawe, and with Mogadishu's new-port plan.
• Disputes: the federal government and Puntland have taken different positions on the Bosaso arrangements (2026).
• Job figures (9,000 direct and 12,000 indirect; 2,000; 50) are unsourced.
• "Greenfield" tick on a modernisation proposal.

Questions members should verify before acting

1. Which authority is responsible for each port today: federal ports ministry, port authority, member state or concessionaire?
2. Is the proposed Mogadishu deep seaport the same as the port authority's planned new port north of the city?
3. How do the Hobyo and Barawe proposals relate to the agreements already announced there?
4. What figure is intended by "$ 1,008.3 B" (note 1)?
5. Is there a current procurement notice, and from which authority?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

• The three proposals, printed costs, sites and pre-feasibility status.
• Albayrak's role at Mogadishu.
• DP World's Bosaso concession (2017).
• Garacad's opening (Oct 2022).
• The Hobyo signing (Oct 2024).
• The Mogadishu Port Authority's new-port plan.

Our interpretation

• The government's port proposals overlap with arrangements they do not mention.
• Maritime skills are the most durable member angle.

Not yet verified

• Terms of the Hobyo, Barawe and Kismayo arrangements.
• The 2020 Mogadishu concession terms.
• The outcome of the January 2026 cancellation announcement.
• All job figures.
• Any dry-dock plan beyond the government's proposal.

Relevant next steps

• Follow the Somali Ports Authority and Mogadishu Port Authority sites for official notices.
• Maritime professionals: map ship-repair skills and training routes in the region.
• Share first-hand port knowledge through Xidig, with care: avoid sharing commercially sensitive or security-sensitive information.