Ministry, UAE’s DP World Agree to Develop Ethiopian side of Berbera Corridor

ADDIS ABABA- Ethiopia’s Ministry of Transport and UAE’s DP World signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the Ethiopian side of the Berbera Corridor.

The MoU was signed on Thursday between Transport minister Dagmawit Moges and chairman of the DP WORLD, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, in Addis Ababa.

DP World UAE and its partners will invest up to US$1bn in developing supply chain infrastructure along the corridor. The development includes dry port, silos, warehouses, container yards, cool and cold chain depots, among others.

Dagmawit, after signing the agreement, said the MOU explores the potentials for developing “logistics infrastructure and provision of end to end logistics services along the corridor to unlock major economic benefits for Ethiopia”.

Ethiopia’s import-export trade is currently dependent on port Djibouti. Its officials are now aims to diversify its port access facilities and services to improve its trade corridor access routes.

“Utilizing the Berbera corridor will have a potential to make Ethiopia front runner in logistics operations, boosting competitive advantage of delivering our products to the world,” said the Transport Minister.

“The development of this Corridor will not only meet with the growing demand of Ethiopian’s international trade, but it would also enhance our Nation’s capacity in utilizing our existing major corridor both in terms of volume of trade and efficiency,” she added.

The agreement envisages that the ministry will see to it that a review and resolution of regulatory obstacles facing the Ethiopian side of the Berbera Corridor are exercised with a view to ensuring competitive arrangements for logistics companies so that they can use the corridor on common user basis.