By Ayomide Otitoju
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved $76.37 million in additional financing for Somalia’s Road Infrastructure Programme, part of the Horn of Africa corridor linking Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.
The funding package includes $49.16 million from the African Development Fund, AfDB’s concessional lending window, and $27.21 million from the Transition Support Facility, which targets countries affected by fragility and conflict.
The programme aims to enhance transport connectivity within Somalia and across its borders, stimulate regional trade, strengthen integration, and reduce fragility in the Horn of Africa.
Mike Salawou, AfDB Director of Infrastructure and Urban Development, explained that the additional financing responds to an expanded project scope. “The programme has evolved from minimal interventions to full road upgrades, incorporating bridges, new road sections, trade facilitation measures, and social infrastructure to maximize benefits for local communities,” he said.
The financing will support upgrades to two strategic road sections: a 15-kilometre stretch linking Zeila to Asha Addo in Somaliland, and a 22-kilometre section from Beled Weyne to Kalabeyr in Hirshabelle State.
Beyond road works, the programme includes community development and resilience initiatives, such as the construction of boreholes, refurbishment of classrooms into skills development centres, building markets and storage facilities, and rehabilitating health centres.
The project also targets economic growth and trade facilitation, including support for small-scale cross-border traders, capacity building for customs and trade management, a simplified trade regime between Somalia and Ethiopia for small operators, and the expansion of Somalia’s automated customs system to modernise and streamline procedures.
