Why this project?

With funding from United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), TradeMark Africa (TMA) is supporting the Government of Somaliland (GoSL), through the Ministry of Transport and Roads Development, to upgrade 22.5km of Hargesia Bypass (HBP) into a 2 lanes single carriage way along the Berbera corridor around the Somaliland’s capital of Hargeisa.

Hargeisa bypass is a key link to the Berbera Corridor. Its construction complements ongoing modernisation at Berbera Port that aim to increase capacity by up to 450,000 TEU per year equalling to 1000 trucks (20 ft containers) a day.

The Hargeisa bypass is part of a three-component three-year programme by the United Kingdom known as “Unlocking Prosperity in the Horn of Africa”.
The programme focuses on increasing trade and economic development along the Berbera trade corridor, supporting inclusive trade and stimulating economic potential through transport infrastructure development.

The case for the construction of the bypass is as follows:

• Decongestion of Hargeisa city
• Allow faster movement of humanitarian aid trucks e.g WFP trucks are normally held at Halaya check point during the day and only released at night.
• As a critical link to the Berbera Port; decongesting the bypass builds a business case for the Port and will have an indirect impact on foreign direct investments, job creation, other income and business opportunities, logistics and financial services.
• Contributing to the growth and development of Somaliland through generation of revenue that is critical for financing government, provision of social and other development programmes.

How:

TMA entered into an agreement with Somaliland government paving way for it to support interventions with key government agencies geared towards improving the trading environment in the country. Construction of the Hargeisa Bypass is one such intervention.

• TMA’s infrastructure technical team in partnership with GoSL appointed Project Implementation Unit (PIU), are providing oversight on project implementation.
• A contractor COCC-GCI JV is undertaking civil works and Kagga & Partners overseeing the design & supervision.
• ITEC Engineering Ltd. is under¬taking a Technical Audit.
• HBP is part of the greater Berbera Corridor, and so there is close coordination with the Abu Dhabi Fund to ensure smooth and seamless construction coordination.
• As part of safeguarding, road construction has factored in conservation of major national cultural heritage sites along the route such as Nasa Hablood.

Contact:

Abdi Osman, TMA Somaliland Country Director
Abdi.Osman@trademarkea.com

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