Addis Ababa, April 21, 2006 – The directors general of the Ethiopian Customs Authority and the Transport Authority declared that the Berbera [port] has now become an alternative port to Ethiopia through which its trade activities would be conducted.

Ethiopian Customs Authority director general, Sileshi Getachew, and Transport Authority director general, Kasahun Hailemariam, told WIC [Walta Information Centre] yesterday that as per the agreement reached between Ethiopia and Somaliland, the port is now open to serve as an additional outlet to the import and export trades of Ethiopia.

They said before the agreement, 15 relevant offices have been studying issues around the usage of the port for a year and a half and the study has confirmed that there are favorable situations for Ethiopia to use the port.

They said the port of Berbera is located 241 kilometers from the Ethiopian border town of Togochale and added that the necessary infrastructures are being constructed in the town. Currently the town is a beneficiary of digital telephone and 24 hours electric power supply, while the construction of bank, hotel, transportation and other service rendering institutions is well under way.

The officials further noted that agreement was concluded between the Ethiopian Customs Authority and its counterpart in Somaliland on the use of the port of Berbera on the basis of international conventions. They added that any business organization, governmental and non-governmental office can now safely use the port.

Port use and transport department head with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Efrem Tufer, said on his part that the port will have significant importance in assisting the country's effort towards rapid economic development and help the country become competitive in international market.

Efrem said Ethiopia's import and export trade has shown 10.6 per cent and 24 per cent growth rates respectively and securing alternative port service is important to ensure sustainable growth.

General Manager of Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL), Yared Shiferaw, said ESL has reached an agreement with its Somaliland counterpart and finalized preparations to facilitate the activities of the port and has readied 700 containers at the site. The shipping lines will provide an alternative multi-model transport services that deliver goods directly from the sender to the receiver with single document.

Representative of the Ethiopian Roads Authority, Hadis Tesfaye, said on his part that the authority has started the construction of asphalt roads and designing activities with an outlay of more than 350m birr [40.6m US dollar].

Source: Walta Information Centre