(MENAFN) The Turkish conglomerate Albayrak is spearheading the modernization and daily management of Mogadishu Port, which serves as Somalia’s primary gateway for imports and its connection to international commerce.

Ahmet Sami Isler, the chairperson of the Somalia Business Council at Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), informed a news agency that the company first arrived in Somalia following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s historic visit to the country in 2011.

Initially, the focus was on humanitarian aid, but it quickly evolved into developing sustainable infrastructure projects as the drought conditions worsened. “We decided to do something permanent, not just to get through the day,” Isler explained.

“We have been managing this port for approximately 11 years now, investing in various projects that have proven to be highly significant for the government — we are pleased with Somalia, and we hope Somalia is equally satisfied with us,” he added.

Isler characterized Mogadishu Port as the commercial backbone of Somalia, emphasizing that around 70% of the country’s imports originate from Türkiye, with the bilateral trade volume nearing $500 million.

In addition to port operations, Albayrak reconstructed the war-damaged Digfer Hospital in 2012, transforming it into the Mogadishu Somalia–Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital.

The company also constructed Türkiye’s largest embassy complex in Mogadishu in 2016 and has been involved in the development of the Somali Presidential Complex.

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