DP World sees key role for once-isolated state
Eritrea may provide an alternative trade route for the region instead of Djibouti
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The Red Sea state of Eritrea may play a key role in DP World Ltd’s plans in the Horn of Africa, where a dozen ports could be needed to service the region, CEO Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem said.
Developing more ports in the Horn, including one it’s already building at Berbera in Somaliland, will help boost trade flows to Dubai, Bin Sulayem said in an interview.
Eritrea’s strategic location near the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, a key shipping lane used by oil tankers and other cargo vessels en route to the Suez Canal, makes it an attractive investment destination for logistics companies. It’s also a gateway to other nations in the region.
“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,” Bin Sulayem said.
The Dubai-based harbour operator has been carrying out assessments throughout the region, Bin Sulayem said. He declined to specify how many harbours it’s targeting of the 10 to 12 it estimates the region needs.
DP World will consider what the government’s plans are at the port city of Assab, he added.
Elsewhere in the region, DP World is interested in helping develop Kenya’s Mombasa port, and in helping Ethiopia establish a logistics facility. “Whatever the UAE does is to improve trade relations because that is our bread and butter,” Bin Sulayem said. “There is no political agenda of the UAE in Africa. Our agenda is trade.”