For information on Somalia Fuel contact details, please see the following link: 4.7 Somalia Fuel Provider Contact List

Currently, most oil is imported from the Arabian Gulf by a group of Somali oil dealers who normally share the cost incurred. In fact the oil importers use foreign tankers with different capacities to import the product. Sometimes there are small dealers who do not afford to use tankers; they import oil in drums as retailers, and distribute in drums for the market retailers. 

The following are major Fuel Import Locations in the country

1. Mogadishu Port

In Mogadishu, the main and only port storage facilities available are Costalina and Somalia Fuels Company (SFC). Costalina has a sea port terminal with capacity of 41.5 million liters operating in Diesel, Petrol and Jet A-1. Somalia Fuel Company (SFC) has a capacity of 47 million Liters similarly operating in Diesel, Petrol and Jet A-1. These two terminals are the main intermediate supply storage depots for Mogadishu and Northern Somalia.

Foreign jet oil companies had recently entered the market particularly at the airports like Sky who now operate inside Mogadishu International Airport. In addition to Foreign based companies, Costalina and HASS Petroleum are local companies that are currently handling commercial Aviation Operations inside Mogadishu International Airport. These local companies also operate in Ground Fuels (Diesel, Petrol) with HASS also supplying LPG in Mogadishu. HASS Petroleum has international connection in African operating in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, D.R Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Costalina Sea Port Terminal (Total Storage Capacity of 41.5 Million Litters)

Somalia Fuel Company (SFC) Sea Port Terminal (47 Million Liters storage capacity)

2. Barbara and Boosaaso Ports

The most and important location in Somaliland is Berbera Fuel Terminal, which is next to the Berbera Port, but the Fuel facility at Barbara is not currently under use. The fuel terminal is controlled by the government, which also manages distribution. However there are many private businesses that also distribute fuel from the government. There is no oil depot for the government; the oil flow is controlled by the Somali private companies.

In Somaliland, the current operational Fuel facility is in Boosaaso Port, Even though, Boosaaso port does not have proper Jetty and only equipped with smaller capacity facilities both in Fuel and Dry cargo handling, it is the current supply point for Fuel for surrounding area (including Barbara) and also locations as far as Beledweyne in Puntland area. 

In October 2015, Berbera Oil terminal was privatized by the Somaliland authority and handed over to the following private companies who will control Berbera Oil Terminal:

1. Red Sea
2. HASS Petroleum
3. Reem Petroleum
4. SOMOIL Petroleum
5. SOM Petroleum
6. Waraabe Petroleum
7. Indha Birta

The entry points for the imported fuel into the country are mainly the port towns like Mogadishu, Kismayo, Bossaso and Berbera. Mogadishu, Barbara and Boosaaso have suitable fuel operating means due to the availability of Storage tanks at port points, Kismaayo is not developed for bulk supply options due to unavailability sea port storage tanks and supply is usually made in smaller packages (drums usually). It is further supplied and transported all over the country by private fuel dealers.

Somali towns such as Dolow are supplied from Mogadishu via Baidoa - Luuq and it’s one of the most expensive fuel prices in Somalia because of the transport costs. Supply in Southern Somalia is subject to security situation on the routes and availability and price at remote locations similarly vary. In additional to inland supplies, some of the Southern and Middle Somalia places depend on cross border supplies from Kenya and Ethiopia. These cross borders are also very rare and tough due to security and associated neighboring countries customs` regulations.

Information may also be found at:  My Travel Cost Website

Fuel Pricing

• • Cost of fuel varies from place to place inside Somalia mainly due to the supply logistics constraints; with Mogadishu being the lowest @ $96 to 159 per US barrel in retail markets (depending of locations). Other parts of the country can have as high as $214 per US barrel even some specific areas going up to $255 per US bbl. 
  • This is attributable to the international oil price, logistics, security for road supply constraints, fuel facility availability at outside locations and the cost of hiring vessels due to the piracy in the coast of Somalia.
  • Although prices have started to reduce, the current high fuel prices are expected to remain as long as the Middle East crisis continues.

Seasonal Variations 

• Due to Somalia's proximity to the equator, there is not much seasonal variation in its climate although sometimes there are unpredictable rainfalls.

• Hot conditions prevail year-long sometimes together with monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Seasonal variations can be observed in the months of May, June, July, August and mid-September, as the monsoon directions change.

• During this time oil traders sell what they have in stores with a slight price increase.

• The fuel prices depend on Dubai oil merchants who control the fuel market.

Fuel Transportation

In Southern Somalia fuel transport is carried out by truck tankers. From the other ports (Boosaaso, Barbara), fuel also is transported to other inland areas by trucks. Somali transporters have vehicles which serves double purpose; when they want to transport fuel they will load the tanker to the truck trailer and when they are transporting cargo they will use the plat form of the trailer. It’s estimated that around 1,000 tankers are available in Mogadishu. In addition to the above, companies like Costalina Oil Terminal, with joint venture of Fine Jet, have recently installed a pipe line from the vessel directly to their depots in the seaport . Fuel from Sea port storage to Airport area depot is transported with fuel truck tankers.  

The trucks used for transportation are very old and mostly do not meet the standard requirements for safety and quality. With complete absence of regulatory body for enforcing safety and Quality requirements, these critical requirements are left to the fuel companies and client requirements. a significant 

Standards, Quality and Testing

• There is no authority that controls the quality and the standard of imported oil.
• There is no accredited laboratories for product quality specification tests. Costalina has currently in-house lab testing facility but not accredited and not covering all the test requirements.
• Importers honor the international standard as it’s a competitive market and this will compel all the transporters to abide.

Somalia Transporters

Local transport- buses, mini-buses, trucks and hired taxis are available for local commuting or for traveling from one city to another. Travelling by road can be dangerous and tedious since major parts of roads are unpaved. There are not many local notable transport companies with a significant number of trucks, however there are a few private companies. Somali Transport Co-operatives are the major players; they are reliable and trusted in Mogadishu, and have offices in the sea port.

All trucks that are under this cooperative are coded “PL” and small transporters depend on this cooperative except a few potential transport companies such as Trans-ocean and Alpha Logistics.
In Southern Somalia, trucks of 10 – 30 mt are mostly used in Somalia but in some occasions they are converted so as to carry more payloads, in addition to their designed loading capacity. Nevertheless, the new government of Somalia is trying to standardize the capacity of the trucks by banning the overloading that is beyond the rated capacity.

Estimated capacity at Mogadishu is around 36,000 mt of varying trucks capacities between 15 – 40 mt. There is a floating pool of over 2,200 trucks. The majority of the trucks are more than 20 years old and in poor condition with high running costs. Lately there has been a slight improvement in the capacity and condition of trucks in and around Mogadishu due to arrival of trucks purchased from Kenya and the UAE. Gradual changes being observed in the number of foreign transport companies operating in Somalia shows an increase but with special joint venture arrangements with local Somali businessmen or local companies that provide services in similar fields.

For information on Somalia Transporters contact details and local transportation, please see the following link:

Additional Somalia Transporters Information

4.8 Somalia Transporter Contact List

Somalia Manual Labor Costs

Mogadishu

Somalia is a developing country where a lot of work is manual. There is not enough machines easily available, therefore minimum use of machines. Costs of manual labour depend on nature of the work and whether labour is skilled or unskilled. Somali Ministry of Labour concentrates on issuing work permits but falls short of regulating it. Labour terms and any form of agreements are privately negotiated with the employer.
There is sufficient manual labour in Mogadishu. However there is job scarcity with the current Government challenged with creation of opportunities for the high number of unemployed individuals. Apart from the private companies, there are a few unions that were formed by the former Said Barre regime. But after the regime the unions remained without any legislation. The common unions are MMD, Mogadishu Stevedoring Union which provides porters at Mogadishu Port.
The main areas of manual work are the construction sites, port operations and plumbing and electrical works. Rates depend on the nature, intensity and complexity of the job to be done.

One of the main challenges Somalia is facing is weak human resource capacity and inadequate operational support facilities. Before the civil war, Somalia had a well-established civil management system such as labour related dispute settlement and retirement benefits. The systems have collapsed and with time the professionals and the experienced people have moved out of the country.

Somaliland

There is no standard labour payment and therefore, each entity provides differently, however, the differences might not be much. Types of work can also determine actual deserved payment for skilled, semi-skilled and un-skilled labourers. Sometimes due to weather conditions (extreme heat, hardship etc.) in Berbera, labourers demand higher rates comparing to the rest of the country. Labourers in the Ministry of Finance are paid higher than other labourers in the other government ministries in order to reduce corruption rates.
At the Port of Berbera, there is a labour union called Gelle (porters) and their payment is much higher as they charge US$3.50 per MT. Labourers are available for all job categories and there are no restrictions for hiring them. It is possible to have direct contracting without passing through Ministry of Labour. Common areas of work include national services, International Agencies, LNGOs, commercial companies, individuals etc.

In Somaliland national labourers are categorized in to A, B, C and D and their pay vary depending on the respective categories. In normal construction work, skilled, semi-skilled and un-skilled labourers are paid differently as well, US$6.15 for unskilled, US$8 for semi-skilled and US$12.30 per day for skilled workers. As stated above, demand for higher rates is common in Berbera. Due to the weather and hardship, they demand US$10 for un-skilled, while US$15 for skilled labourers per day, especially for installation of mobile storages including mobile storage units such as Wiikhalls.
Security guards are also paid US$15 per day. As living cost is very high in Berbera and the weather is not favourable, resignations from staff is high.
During the Holy Month of Ramadan, working hours remain the same (8 hours/day) theoretically, but the output is not as high as other times. The Port of Berbera is operational for 14 hours per day for break bulk cargoes and for general goods, while it is declared 24 hours operational for bulk cargoes. The shift from 14:00 hours to 16:00 hours is removed during the Ramadan and therefore, the 2 hours is added to late working hours – work stops at 0400 hours instead of 0200 hours.

Kismayo

The previous government laid down regulations following the ILO standards. 

Somalia Additional Service Providers: Vehicle Rental, Taxi Companies, Freight Forwarding Agents, Handling Equipment, Power Generation and ISPs

Vehicle Rental

Individuals provide their cars for hiring in Somalia. There are no organizations for car hire in Somalia.

Taxi Companies

The Mogadishu Taxi Company commenced operations in 2013 and it’s the first taxi service of yellow cabs in the city. Charges are $1 per kilometre. Locals use buses to get around for around about $0.10. 

Somalia Taxi Business Website

Freight Forwarding Agents

 Alibaba Website on Somalia Freight Forwarding Information

Handling Equipment 

World Bank Information on Somalia Handling Equipment

Electricity and Power 

The company responsible for electricity generation and supply in Somalia is Ente Nazionale Energia Elettrica, known as ENEE. A few diesel generators are installed and located around the capital Mogadishu. Civil war has seen the electrical infrastructure get destroyed and restraining power supply in the country.
The Ethiopian power company, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) is providing power to twelve Somali towns. Somalia has recently installed diesel generators with capacity of 80 megawatts (MW). The Ente Nazionale Energia Elettrica (ENEE) is the entity responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Somalia. A planned hydroelectric facility on the Jubba River has been delayed due to continued fighting and Al-Shabaab insurgency. Studies have indicated that the Horn of Africa- Somalia is a prime location for harnessing wind for electricity generation.

Energy
Domestic wood, charcoal and imported petroleum provided basic sources of energy with significant hydroelectric potential of Jubba River remaining unexploited. Four small-scale wind turbine generators operated in Mogadishu. Prior to civil war, eighty state-owned oil-fired and diesel power plants provided electricity to cities and towns. United Nations Development Programme hydrocarbon study in 1991 indicated good potential for oil and gas deposits in Northern Somalia.
Read more on:
Mongabay Website Information on Somalia Economy

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Telcom is the largest and the leading telecommunications network operator in Somalia. It is the first major privately owned company providing telecommunications in Somalia territory. Telkom’s principal activities include local, long distance, national and international telecommunication, mobile communications, and a wide range of data services including broadband access. The company is headquartered in Mogadishu, and has representative offices in Dubai, UAE and London, UK where accounting, international relations and carrier services are handled. The company total employee strength is 750. 

Global TT Website

Somalia Telecommunications 

Somalia Communications which includes Telecommunications, internet, radio, print, television and postal services are mostly run by private local Somali entrepreneurs (The Government operates one radio and one TV station with the help of foreign expertise i.e. Chinese, Korean, European and Latin American telecommunication Engineers. The telecommunications firms offer Somalis affordable mobile phones and internet services that may not be available in some parts of the African continent.
There is no restriction in applying for a SIM card from any one of the mobile providers in Somalia. However limitations come with the selection of the type of the services the client prescribes. There are post-paid and pre-paid services. A pre-paid application is not difficult to obtain unlike post-paid.
After President Said Barre’s Government was ousted from power in 1990 many new telecommunication firms began to arrive. They began to grab the opportunity of the missing infrastructure by providing the much needed services. The country now offers technologically advanced telecommunications services at competitive prices. The above telecommunication companies also provide services to every city, town and hamlet in Somalia. There are presently around 30 mainlines per 1,000 persons, and the local availability of telephone lines (Tele-density) is higher than in neighboring countries.

A French company called Dalcom is currently engaged in providing connectivity through the fiber-optic cables, which has now reached Mogadishu. The company has now registered around 15 clients and will very soon start providing internet connectivity to the southern parts of the country.

Mail Services

The postal service of Somalia has been un-functional for a long time now. Somalia National Posts are under the Ministry of Information, Post and Telecommunication of the Federal Government of Somalia. Recently the Somali Federal Government announced its intention to revive the Somali Postal Service. In mid-2013 the minister of information posts and Telecommunication signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates Posts to process mail to and from Somalia. Emirates Post's mail transit hub at Dubai International Airport was then used to forward mail from Somalia to various destinations.
Additionally, DHL and Australian Post are private companies that operate in Mogadishu. DHL provides postal services; Australian Post mostly provides sea mail parcel delivery services to Somalia destinations.

Telecommunication Regulation

On March 22, 2012, the Somali Cabinet unanimously approved the National Communications Act, which paves the way for the establishment of a National Communications regulator in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. The bill was passed following consultations between government representatives and communications, academic and civil society stakeholders. According to the Ministry of Information, Post and Telecommunications, the Act is expected to offer a favorable environment for much needed foreign investment that will also support infrastructure development.

Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems

The Humanitarian community mostly depends on the existing private companies for mobile telephones while at the same time augmenting with their official communications systems particularly VHF, HF radios and V-Sats in order to have a high speed self-sufficient connectivity including internet.
The main humanitarian organizations that have these types of telecommunications are, UNDP, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, UNISCO, FAO and UNSOA.

For information on Somalia Radio networks, please see the following document:

Somalia Radio Information

Somalia Food Suppliers, Accommodation and Other Markets

Main Food Suppliers

Main food suppliers in the area are for two seasons but unfortunately the producing area is under control of Al-Shabaab. The country used to have all these manufacturers who are now gone. It’s very hard to give indication of this subject as there is no official food logistics office that can give details of the respective queries. 

Food usually imported from Asia, is available in the local markets. The main markets are around the port towns. The major local food products are maize, sorghum, beans and sesame for oil production.
Locally produced food stuffs do not meet demand but does play an essential role especially in the remote areas. There is no local manufacturing capacity for food stuffs. Nevertheless, there is availability of additional operational support equipment in local markets such as tents, water pumps, pipes, water tanks, computer and IT equipment, office furniture. Potable water depends on a tendering agreement for importing from outside country to the purchaser direct.

Oxfam America Publication on Somalia Markets

Kismayo

Goods consumed in Kismayo come from Dubai by commercial charter vessels/dhows Al-Nour Mawafaq which supplies sugar in Kismayo from Dubai. Vessels carry roughly 150,000 mt of sugar every two/three months and the agent is Abdi Jamal. Good Land Enterprise supply goods to Kismayo on a monthly basis by dhows and their capacity are 6,000 mt of assorted goods and their agent is Suldan Mukhtar.
Brother Group of Company Ltd which supplies building material and cement in Kismayo ex Dubai by vessel every 3months with the capacity of 8,000 mt and their agent are Abdirashid & Ali Naji.
Iskashi supplies assorted goods from Dubai to Kismayo with the capacity of 150,000 mt every month by dhows and their agents in Kismayo are Abdirahman & Bashir. Competition is very limited, the demand in the town is low though trade is being posted by the current regional government in place; procurement of any needed item is done by traders from Dubai. The aforesaid companies have their HQ in Dubai, in the UAE.

Mogadishu

There are no principal industries including food and beverage processing and textiles, the main market offers goods from food, clothes to electronic gadgets.
The main Markets of Mogadishu are

• The  Bakara Market – The biggest market.

• The Suq Bacad Marke – In Wardhigley in Yaaqshid district

• The Hamarweyne Market – In Hamar weyne district

• The Madina Market – In Madina district

Bakara is the most popular market in Somalia. Commodities found in this market include; food, fuel, beverages, clothes, ornaments (silver and gold), cosmetics, medicine, hardware materials, vehicles spare part and many more.
In the 1990’s this market was also famous for weapons and ammunitions. As of now the government has banned selling weapons in public.

Main Food Suppliers:

• Many Somalis are agro-pastoralists and only a few live in the urban centres.

• There is no big food producing farms, only subsistence farms exist which is not enough for the consumption of the families.

• During Said Barres regime there were big farms for cash crops such as banana, watermelon and citrus which were mainly for export.

• There are no local manufacturing or processors of food industries due to insecurity.

• However; there are opportunities as well as interests, the current government is working on investment laws and wants to improve the overall security of the capital in order to create a favorable environment that could attract foreign and local investments.

• Most of the food suppliers in Mogadishu are companies that import from abroad.

• There are no specific companies that specialize in importing one commodity they usually import different food commodities

Accommodation

There are 2 hotels in Kismayo namely the New Waamo Hotel and the Qiilmawaye Hotel. These hotels have security personnel, the hotels are not standard as well, no housing programmes going in the town at large. Although the town was liberated by the allied AMISOM forces in October 2012, security remains unstable.

• The New Waamo Hotel: Contact (owner) is Fatuma Ali Nasir (+252 61 553 8382) located at the main cross roads in Kismayu town and has 37 rooms of different categories. It can accommodate 59 persons at one time including conference hall.

• The Qiilmawaye Hotel: Contact (owner) Mohamed Said (+252 61 668 2888) Golden Beach Hotel is located at the beach of Calanley Village. It has 30 rooms in double beds and single it can accommodate 31 persons at one time including a conference hall.

Mogadishu is now under the control of an internationally recognized government with the support of AU peacekeepers. Since the ousting of al-Shabab in August 2011, the city has seen an intense period of reconstruction funded by the Somali diaspora and the international community. The city has started receiving international commercial flights such as Turkish Airlines. Mogadishu still remains dangerous due to high crime rates. Although improvements are taking place there are still problems with basic services like water, electricity, and law enforcement as well as a lack of facilities like hotels, restaurants, etc.
The city is also prone to suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks carried out by extremists who manage to get past the security checkpoints around the city. Somali diaspora and other foreign companies started copying infrastructure from abroad and initiated certain investments in building hotels and guest houses, the main ones are: Guest houses and camps:-

• Bancroft Camp: is run Bancroft Global a US based Security Company tasked with close training with AU troops, it rents houses or small cottages near the airport for AMISOM guests, UN & journalists, guests used to like it to the security as it’s in fortified camp and out all dangers of the city.
• UN-IST: This United Nation international Support team is run by Albany Associates with Pell Pottinger; it recently commenced providing accommodation to the AMISOM guests particularly to journalists.
• SKA guest house: This guest house is run by SKA (Air and Logistics SKYlink Arabia) it was established when SKA was running the Mogadishu Airport and was intended for those eligible for international travel.
• Diaspora guest house: is a guest house near the UNCC compound, that attracted a lot of Somali diaspora that are afraid to access the hinterland of Mogadishu city.
• Mogadishu Guest house: is a locally managed guest house and restaurant situated near Lido beach, it also has a children’s playground.

The most common Hotels are located in and are near the airport where the security condition is better than the hinterland.

• Peace Hotel

• Aran Hotel

• Hotel Shaamo

• Hotel Nasa-Habood

• Jazeera Place Hotel

• Maka-Al Mukaram hotel

• Kuwait hotel

• Amira Global hotel

• Oriental hotel

• City palace hotel

Additional Operational Support

Other operational support exists but not developed and mostly is retailers; there are no large agencies in the city that caters for the electronics.

Somalia Waste Management and Disposal Providers

Urban water supply and sanitation and solid waste management is the mandate of the respective municipalities under the Ministry of Natural Resources. Data on water and sanitation coverage is very limited with only 3 surveys and an additional partial inventory of water sources across Somalia under SWALIM project having been carried out in the recent past.
Nationally, only 23% of the population has access to sanitation facilities with access rates of 52% in urban centers and only 6% in rural areas (World Development Indicators 2010).

Mogadishu

In Somalia the local government or Benadir Administration collects transports and disposes waste materials from the city. Waste management differs in the urban areas from that of the rural area, as there are more people in the rural area in comparison to the city. This is done in order to minimize harm to individual’s health as well as the environment. In Somalia there is no distinction of the nature of waste; whether solid, liquid or any other form; waste will be considered as waste and dumped in the dumping sites.
In Mogadishu, apart from the local government, the Ministry of Natural Resources and environment deals with the identification of the dumping locations, there are two big dumping locations in Mogadishu one situated in Medina district while the other one is located in Karan district. These two dumping places are the official places to dump the wastes that are collected from the different districts of Mogadishu. The names of the two dumping sites are:

• Qashinweyne in Karan

• Kaawo in Madina

For the last two years the Turkish Government has been assisting the Banadir administration with waste collection. The Turkish government is accountable for the entire process.
Recycling: No recycling is practiced in Mogadishu.
There are cleaning companies that operate in certain compounds. They clean regular trash from such areas and dispose waste in the respective places. Afterwards, the Turkish and Banadir Administration take the wastes to the dumping sites.

Waste Disposal - Non Hazardous

All garbage and rubbish collected from major cities and towns are dumped in large holes dug several kilometres away from the town and lacking a separation process of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, instead all are dumped in one place which is not environment friendly. There are tankers, which collect and dump waste water outside the city.

Waste Disposal - Hazardous

Mogadishu has big industries that produce hazardous wastes that are harmful to humans, however foreign companies have been observed to be dumping hazardous waste along the ocean. There are rules and regulations that forbid dumping of used motor oil in to the sea or near the ports. Violators are heavily fined and ordered to clean up. Friendly countries and international organization have been assisting Somalia to monitor and prevent the dumping of wastes until the government gets the capability of tackling these problems.

Somaliland

Waste is mainly collected in dumping holes dug outside the towns and cities. The local Berbera Municipality organizes and collects the waste and has two big dumping sites outside the town.
Hargeisa has two companies named DHIS Waste Management and Sabawanag Waste Management who collect the waste from the city and their temporary dumping sites located within the town as shown in the below photo. Hargeisa Municipality has four dumping sites for burning garbage, which are about seven kilometres outside the city.

In general Somalia does not have a recycling programme in place therefore two commonly used materials like plastic bags and bottles are dumped or sometimes burned.  

For information on Somalia Waste disposial contact details, please see the following link:

4.1 Somalia Government Contact List