Turkish firm agrees to expand ancient Somali Hobyo port

Turkish contractor Metag Holding on Tuesday signed an agreement to expand the ancient Somali port of Hobyo, according to local media. Metag’s deal with the Hobyo Investment Company will see it run the port for 80 years. The Federal Government of Somalia says the aim is to turn the small settlement of 11,000 people into a regional trade hub. The deal would offer Ethiopia an alternative outlet to Djibouti, and de-congest the port of Mogadishu. Abdi Ismail Samatar, professor at the University of Minnesota and a senator in the Somali parliament, tells VOA’s Douglas Mpuga, the project has great potential but also creates a lot of legal and existential problems.