DP World eyes Eritrean ports in region strategy

The Red Sea state of Eritrea may play a key role in DP World’s plans in the Horn of Africa, where 12 ports could be needed to service the region, CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem says.

The Dubai-based state-controlled harbour operator is evaluating its strategy in the region after having its stake in a port in Djibouti — the main trade route for Ethiopia, Africa’s fastestgrowing economy — nationalised by the government.

Developing more ports in the Horn, including one it is already building at Berbera in the selfdeclared republic of Somaliland, will help boost trade flows to Dubai, Bin Sulayem said.

Eritrea’s strategic location near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping lane used by oil tankers and other vessels en route to the Suez Canal, makes it an attractive investment destination for logistics companies. It is also a gateway to other nations in the region, the CEO said.

“Eritrea is going to have a major role. We believe that the way we should look at the Horn of Africa is not at Eritrea alone, but add to the equation South Sudan, other parts of Sudan, and Eritrea’s needs, and then the Ethiopian population.”

The company has been carrying out assessments throughout the region, Bin Sulayem said. He declined to specify how many harbours it is targeting of the 10 to 12 it estimates the region requires.

Eritrea is normalising its foreign relations after signing a historic peace deal in July with neighbouring Ethiopia. The two countries fought a border war two decades ago that claimed as many as 100,000 lives.

DP World will consider what the government’s plans are at Assab and “will be there like everybody else” if asked to invest, Bin Sulayem said.

Eritrean information minister Yemane Gebremeskel said he could not comment on whether the ports of Assab and Massawa will be opened for tender.

ERITREA IS GOING TO HAVE A MAJOR ROLE. WE BELIEVE THAT THE WAY WE SHOULD LOOK AT THE HORN OF AFRICA IS NOT AT ERITREA ALONE

Eritrea may provide an alternative to Djibouti, where DP World is in a legal dispute with the government after it nationalised the Doraleh Container Terminal in September.

That followed a UK tribunal ruling that Djibouti’s cancellation in February of DP World’s contract to run the container terminal was unlawful.

Djibouti ports authority chair Aboubaker Omar Hadi said he met Bin Sulayem in January. They discussed possible compensation, though details of that have yet to be worked out.