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Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

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Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby ramzy2277 » Thu Aug 20, 2015 2:26 am

The port of Berbera in Somaliland that lies across from Aden in Yemen has stirred the lust of France’s Bollore and Dubai­based DP World. The two groups are strongly lobbying Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud, a k a Silanyo, for a contract to manage the port. Silanyo has deliberately strung the two along and plays on the strategic importance of Berbera in his dealings with both Mogadishu and his Western partners.

The latter are about to freeze their financial aid to Somaliland, reproaching Silanyo for his lack of involvement in the fight against the radical Islamist movement Al Shabaab and the two year extension he added on to his term as the country’s leader.

Why the Berbera Corridor meeting was cancelled

The Somaliland port of Berbera unites opinions as much as it divides. So, while waiting for tempers to calm down, the conference on the Berbera Corridor, organised by the EU and the IGAD ­ scheduled in Nairobi on 7 July ­ was cancelled. On 23 June, Hailemariam Desalegn informed Somaliland President Silanyo, that he was keen to work with the United Arab Emirates and Somaliland to develop the port. But the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was opposed to this scenario. He informed the executive secretary of IGAD, Mahboub Maalim, during a recent visit to Mogadishu, that he would not back any project in Somaliland so long as its president was opposed to unification. He therefore asked for the Nairobi conference to be cancelled. Furthermore, Djibouti takes a dim view of the potential competition from Somaliland. In addition, Desalegn sent his finance minister, Sufian Ahmed, on a mission to Djibouti on 25 June to reassure the authorities about their concerns over trade contracts and the transit of freight via Djibouti.

P&O Ports pushes up the prices in Berbera

The Dubai based ports company P&O Ports pulled no punches when it came to winning the good graces of Hargeisa in mid­May. It offered the Somaliland government over $40 million to sign the heads of agreement to operate the port of Berbera. This offer follows the visit on 12 May to Dubai of a Somaliland delegation led by the minister to the presidency, Hersi Ali Haji Hassan ( ION 1403). Created in late March by the chairman of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, who also runs DP World, P&O Ports is a serious new competitor for the French group Bolloré ( ION 1402).

Dubai renews discussions in order to counter Bolloré on Berbera

A Somaliland delegation consisting of the ministers to the presidency, Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, the plan, Saad Ali Shire, and public works Abdirizak Khalif Ahmed, together with the director of port authorities, Ali Hoor Hoor, went to Dubai on 12 May at the invitation of the Emir Mohammed Bin Rashid Al­Maktoum. The Somaliland delegation met with Mohammed Sharaf, the CEO of the UAE ports operator DP World. This company is trying to win the contract to operate the port of Berbera, at the expense of the French group

Bolloré (ION 1402). On 25 April, the same delegation had cancelled its trip to Dubai at the last minute.

No docking in sight in Berbera for Bolloré

Although a MoU was signed in early February, the French Bolloré group still has a long way to go before it concludes a deal to run Berbera Port.

The visit to Dubai of a Somaliland delegation consisting of the ministers to the presidency, Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, the plan, Saad Ali Shire, public works, Abdirizak Khalif Ahmed, and the director of port authorities,

Ali Hoor Hoor, was cancelled suddenly on 25 April. These men had been due to join Bashe Awil Haji Omar, son­in­law and right hand man to Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamud, aka Silanyo, to meet the CEO of DP World (DPW), Mohammed Sharaf. Negotiations were initiated with DPW in June 2013 by the Djibouti businessman Abdourahman Mahamoud Boreh for it to take charge of the management of Berbera Port. DPW, based in the United Arab Emirates, is the number three ports operator in the world.

However the foreign minister, Mohamed Bihi Yonis, currently on tour in Europe, opposed this mission. Yonis preferred the proposal by Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL). He had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (see here) on 5 February with Eric Melet, the French group’s director general for development and concessions. This should have led to “ negotiations to reach a decision on the conclusion of an agreement [on Berbera Port]” by 1 May. However, no appointment has been scheduled yet and the government has not complied with the timetable set out in the MoU. In fact, BAL has been working on the contract to operate Berbera Port for seven years, and a consultant’s audit of its proposition should have been completed by 1 April. But the government has still not chosen the firm to carry out this audit.



These delays are due to divergences within the government about which of the four candidate operators should get the contract. While Bolloré is supported by Yonis; DPW is backed by Bashe Awil Haji Omar.



Kuwaiti Logistics has the backing of the Minister for Aviation, Mohamoud Hashi Abdi. The Saudi Arabia based firm Prime Africa is backed by the oil minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh. These power struggles are far from reassuring for BAL, as the MoU it managed to win from the Somaliland authorities after a great deal of difficulty, will finally expire on 30 June.

After Bolloré, DP World is also interested in Berbera Port

The Hargeisa government is consulting various companies for the development of the port.

The general manager of Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL), Eric Sanchez, went to Hargeisa once again on 4 February to try to find common ground with the Somaliland authorities about operating the port of Berbera. To be sure, BAL has been vying for the contract for a good many years. However, the French company is by no means the only runner in this race: to be sure, a delegation from the world number three ports operator, Dubai Ports World (DP World), headed by Mohammed Sharaf, discreetly met the Minister of Presidency Hersi Ali Haji Hassan in Berbera on 13 February. DP World’s intention was to reaffirm its interest in operating Berbera Port to the Hargeisa government. The Dubai delegation obtained permission to deploy a team in Berbera to explore the solutions to develop the port. At the same time, President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud“ Silanyo” of Somaliland mandated the Dutch consulting company Maritime & Transport Business Solutions



(MTBS) headed by Frank Luisman to analyse the BAL proposal. BAL director general Dominique Lafont has on several occasions expressed his irritation at the Somaliland authorities’ dithering. In December 2014, the French Ambassador to Nairobi, Rémi Maréchaux even sent Silanyo and eight of his ministers a letter (ION 1393) to stress the importance of the Berbera contract for Bolloré, as it should enable 30% of Ethiopian trade to transit via Somaliland instead of Djibouti as at present. In October 2014, the Somaliland port authorities had already been contacted for the same reason by Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), with support from First Lady Amina Waris Sheikh Mohamed Jirde, and her son­in­law Bashe Awil Haji Omar (ION 1389).

President’s son­in­law, Bashe Awil Haji Omar, plays for high stakes in Berbera

Nairobi, London, Manchester, Hargeisa, and also Dubai, Bashe Awil Haji Omar owns properties and does business in a good many countries. Married to Lul Ahmed Mohamed, the daughter of President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud “ Silanyo”, he is widely considered his father­in­law’s right hand man. Since early February, he has proved to be very enterprising and has invested considerably in developing Berbera Port. He was involved in organising the DP World delegation to meet Silanyo and wants to strike a deal with Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) to import oil to Berbera for re­export to Ethiopia. A graduate in chemistry from

University College London and petro­chemistry from University of Manchester, he obtained the green light for this activity from Adam Sugal, the head of the National Contract Agency. He has also introduced the Pakistani businessman Mohamed Khan, to the minister for public works, Abdirizak Khalif Ahmed, who awarded him the contract for vehicle compliance checking without going through a call for tenders process.

French ambassador writes to Silanyo

The French ambassador to Somalia based in Nairobi, Rémi Maréchaux, wrote to President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud known as Silanyo on 3 December, copied to eight ministers (click here) to take stock of his visit to Hargeisa from 6 to 8 November. In the letter, written in English, the ambassador confirmed that France is interested in opening an Alliance Française in Hargeisa, building up on the initiatives to spread French language instruction by the former foreign affairs minister Edna Adan Ismaïl (ION 1391).The second point in the letter concerned the project for the French group Bolloré to take over the operation of the port of Berbera. This project has a considerable magnitude, since it should enable 30% of Ethiopian trade to transit via Somaliland instead of Djibouti as at present. Concerning Banque pour le commerce et l’industrie­mer Rouge (BCIMR, 51% owned by the French bank BRED), which has had an office in Hargeisa since 2009 and handles about 40% of Somaliland’s funds transfer, Maréchaux said he was “ sad” to learn that this bank had not been authorised to make loans because the Somaliland parliament had still not approved the banking bill.

Maréchaux ended the letter drawing Silanyo’s attention to the case of the Djibouti­based French group Marill. This group is in legal dispute with its partner in Somaliland, Osman Abdi Osman, about the automobile agency Toyota Marill Hargeisa (ION 1393). The Marill group attacked Osman for “misappropriation of funds”, in the local courts, which found in its favour. “However, the enforcement of the decision of the court has been blocked for several months,” Maréchal points out. He goes on to warn Silanyo about “ the fact that this situation is unlikely to encourage foreign firms to invest in Somaliland“.

Bolloré puts his effort on Berbera

Bolloré Africa Logistics has unsuccessfully been after the contract to run the port of Berbera for the last five years.

One of the main sponsors of the UK­Somaliland Trade & Investment Forum 2014 held in London on 14 October, Bolloré Africa Logistics, a subsidiary of the French group Bolloré, took the opportunity to put pressure on Hargeisa. Facing President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud known as Silanyo and his foreign minister, Mohamed B. Yonis, Bolloré chairman Dominique Lafont criticised Somaliland, holding it responsible for the delay in awarding his company the contract to manage the port of Berbera. In fact, he did not appreciate the fact that the Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) had discreetly approached the Somaliland authorities, with the support of the First Lady of Hargeisa, Amina Waris Sheikh Mohamed Jirde and her son­ in­law Bashe Awil Haji Omar.

Responding to a member of the audience at the London conference, who demanded that Hargeisa launch a call for tenders for this contract, Lafont was visibly annoyed. He pointed out that his company was prepared to invest $442 million in this project and that it supported Somaliland’s demand to be recognised as an independent state. He seemed to be at the end of his patience and will soon organise a last ditch meeting of the tripartite committee, consisting of delegates from Bolloré, and ministers from Ethiopia and Somaliland, to settle once and for all on the terms of the contract (ION 1385).

Who Bolloré has to talk to in Berbera

Hargeisa has instructed a British lawyer to negotiate with the French group Bolloré to hammer out the details of the agreement to manage Berbera port.

Meetings began about two weeks ago between representatives of Bolloré Africa Logistics and the British law practice McCue & Partners to work on an agreement for the French group to run Berbera port. In fact, several months ago the Somaliland government instructed the firm’s main partner, Jason Daniel McCue, 44, to look for funding to develop the Berbera corridor towards Ethiopia. This is a vast project including an oil pipeline, estimated to cost a total of around $2.5 billion. This mandate was attributed to the Berbera Development Company (BDC) founded by McCue in London in April 2013 to make the Somaliland port into a logistics hub for the whole region.



McCue and BDC have consequently also become Bolloré’s primary contact points for Somaliland. BDC has three directors in addition to McCue, who is interested in security via his MODA Alliance Group. They are the Britons John Richard Moore, 45, who heads John Moore & Co and Ibrahim Ali Yusuf, 41, plus the Canadian Ahmed Mohamed Abokor, 48. The latter lives in Djibouti, where he is in partnership with the businessman Mohamed Said Guedi in the company Afro Shnagai­Djibouti. He is also one of the directors of Pontus Marine Ltd (ION 1359) – an industrial fishing company in Somaliland founded last year in London – alongside the British lawyer from Somaliland, Mohammed Yusef who is moreover the founder of Invicta Capital. Pontus Marine has one heavyweight as a non­executive director: the Conservative MP Henry Bellingham, a former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in charge of African affairs.



Source:Africaintelligence

Tooshnews.net

editor@tooshnews.net

Hargaysa,Somaliland.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby mahoka » Thu Aug 20, 2015 5:43 am

I don't believe these things anymore

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby theyuusuf143 » Thu Aug 20, 2015 6:30 am

We should not phuk with the Arabs. They have much more money and our economy is mostly depend on them. They are also the biggest donors of Ethiopia as well. Money talks.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby ramzy2277 » Thu Aug 20, 2015 6:34 am

Mahoka.

how about this.....xirsi went yesterday to ethiopia to discuss the berbera corridor issue with the xabashis.


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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby mahoka » Thu Aug 20, 2015 7:28 am

Mahoka.

how about this.....xirsi went yesterday to ethiopia to discuss the berbera corridor issue with the xabashis.

Bro I don't think it us Going ahead, they have been talking about this since 2013. The question Is why the government dragging it's feet


What is ur take on it

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby theyuusuf143 » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:09 am

the corridor will be started. How ever there is Some confusion Ethiopia wants a corridor linking between wajaale straight to diredawa. I think it's more beneficial for us if they make a highway via Jigjiga to harar. diredawa is already supplied hy Djibouti. we can easily dominate eastern Ethiopian market even if the tplf government falls.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby gurey25 » Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:05 pm

They should listen to Bihi yonis, Bollore is the best bet.
The arabs are a danger, a threat to Somaliland and are unreliable.
The UAE is only interested in Berbera because the Turks took over everything in xamar and forced them out.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby Obscene » Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:05 am

They should listen to Bihi yonis, Bollore is the best bet.
The arabs are a danger, a threat to Somaliland and are unreliable.
The UAE is only interested in Berbera because the Turks took over everything in xamar and forced them out.
Yeah I agree, Bollore is the best choice.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby LiquidHYDROGEN » Fri Aug 21, 2015 3:38 am

Tell the dhegcas to hit the road. But I wouldn't trust the Fransiis either, they're an insidious and conniving bunch.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby gurey25 » Fri Aug 21, 2015 3:50 am

Liqued the franciis wnat to simply rob you, its just business for them.

The arabs want to destroy your independence ...
They are fundementally against your existance, while the french dont care as long they profit

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby LiquidHYDROGEN » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:06 am

Then both options should be equally terrible.

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby caadani90 » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:41 am

I agree with Gurey that Arabs oppose us on idiological grounds which puts us at risk if we allow them to control our most strategic asset.

However, any one who knows any thing about Frances post colonial relationship with Africa will know just how conniving, cunning and dangerous the French really are (as liquid has mentioned).

While there is competition we have leverage and we should use it. However, I feel the Arabs are easier to out manouver than the French

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby mahoka » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:59 am

We should be looking for a Chinese firm


But if it came down to the white flag man vs the goat molesting sucide bomber, I say the white flag man should get it because he is motivated by profits and berbera needs that

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Re: Berbera port: Bollore clashes with DP World

Postby Lancer » Sat Aug 22, 2015 7:17 am

It's really not that hard, all they need to do is hold a bidding process and pick the highest bidder with the best offers on the table. This luuq luuq meetings with different ministers going every time needs to stop.


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