Shafa Al Nahda outlines staffing plan for DP World contract in Somaliland

Shafa Al Nahda Contracting, the main contractor expanding Dubai port operator DP World’s Port of Berbera in Somaliland, has revealed how it plans to employ staff for the project. Shafa Al Nahda was awarded DP World’s contract to expand Berbera Port due to its experience of working on Port of Dakar (Senegal) and Port of Maputo (Mozambique). Its local portfolio includes Port Rashid and Queen Elizabeth 2, also known as QE2.

Mohammed Nasser, general manager of Shafa Al Nahda Contracting, said some staff for the project will “be coming in” from outside Somaliland, but local professionals would also play an important role in Berbera Port’s expansion scheme.

In a video produced by DP World showcasing the project’s ground-breaking ceremony, Nasser said: “There are key positions for which we’ve placed our skilled staff that will be coming in from abroad. But we plan to integrate this [workforce] with local labour.”

Nasser said this approach will help the contractor since the local market’s skillset is at present limited to a “basic level”, adding: “We want to employ [locals] and mix them with our skilled staff.”

These professionals, Nasser explained, would be employed by Shafa Al Nahda even after the project was completed, which would in turn allow them to become trained professionals such as electricians or foremen.

In the same DP World video, President Musa Bihi Abdi of Somaliland said conflicts in the Horn of Africa region had led to youth unemployment in the region, but DP World’s project would deliver long-term benefits across the region.

“[The project] will be beneficial to the whole region, [delivering] stability and the wellbeing of people,” he continued. “People are [hopeful] that this project will upgrade their life, so they’re very happy.”

The expansion scheme will see Shafa Al Nahda building a 400m quay and launching a 25ha yard extension under Phase 1. This phase also includes the development of a free zone.

These works will be managed by DP World Berbera, in which Ethiopia has a 19% stake.