Press Release: Lughaya Port Development Project ... - WardheerNews

Press Release: Lughaya Port Development Project (LPDP)
Adal Resources and Development Assistance Association (ARDAA), officially announces the Lughaya
Port Development Project (LPDP) as its strategic priority over the next few years. The LPDP
constitutes a part of the ARDAA’s core objectives of supporting socio-economic developments in the
Adal regions.
Geographically occupying a vast land in the Horn of Africa with a population of approximately 1.5
million people, Adalites inhabit the regions of Awdal, Salal, and Gabiley in Somaliland as well as areas
in neighboring, Djibouti and Eastern Ethiopia. The strong kinship and economic relationship of the
people of Adal has compelled an inclusive economic development plan for the entire region. ARDAA has
become the icon of the Diaspora community from these regions for the past couple of years and an
inspiration to lead economic growth, prosperity and relief efforts.
A major part of the 2008/09 capacity building process involved the identification and prioritization of
strategic goals and directions that will lead the organization within the next 3 - years. During this process,
ARDAA has conducted an extensive consultation with all of its major stakeholders in both the Diaspora,
and Adal communities at local levels. Additionally, the Board of Directors has gone through a period of
comprehensive strategic planning in order to review its mission, vision, mandate and goals/objectives.
The outcomes of both the strategic plan and the community consultation processes have converged into
one major strategic priority as the recommended direction of ARDAA and its stakeholders over the next
few years, and that is the Lughaya Port Development Project (LPDP). ARDAA has indeed identified
Lughaya Port as the missing link in the renaissance of Adal’s economic fortune and the key to the
restoration of the Adal dynasty. This project is considered a game-changer, big time!
The strategic vision is to improve the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in the fisheries
sector and to open up new and sustainable trade routes across the communities in the Adal regions and
beyond. We, at ARDAA, envision a future where fish caught in Adal coasts is consumed in Jigjiga,
Diridhaba, Damal and Biyokulul, on the same day, and livestocks from the Harawe valley are exported
through Adal coastal terminals. ARDAA is working on an investment and development master plan
encompassing the coastal line from Eil Sheikh to Loyaado and with specific targets of developing tourist
resorts at the historic city of Zeila and its neighbouring islands of Saaddin and Eebad while at the same
preserving the rich ancestral history of our civilization. The over arching goals are:
1. Poverty reduction through the improvement and introduction of artisanal fishing communities and
creation of income-generating employment opportunities
2. Access to medical services at urban centers through improved network of roads,
3. Opening up potential businesses with the huge market south of the border
4. Settle the nomadic population along the coast to engage in fishing, import/export business
5. Settle the nomadic population along the Lughaya/Borama road as rural settlements with schools,
health care centres and agricultural/farming communities.

These goals, if and when achieved, will eliminate the drastic effect and negative impact of the cyclical
draught, famines, crop failures, trade barriers, poor health system, and community isolation and
dependence.
Adal communities traded with the rest of the world since pre-Islamic era. Zeila was one of the few major
commercial routes and business centres of the whole of the Horn of Africa since time immemorial.
ARDAA is inspired by this history, by the opportunity, by the need for economic independence of the
Adal communities, by the geopolitical realities in the region, and by the location of Lughaya as it relates
to its distance from major markets in the Horn. Lughaya is currently a government recognized official
port with a central government Customs Office to levy taxes on imports and exports.
In consultation with its major stakeholders, ARDAA wants to have this project delivered in two (2)
phases: Phase I (short-term of 2 – 3 years), and Phase II (long-term – 3 years and beyond). ARDAA’s
short-term strategy for the Lughaya Port Development Project (LPDP) is to raise funds, buy/build, and
start-up operations of the port by providing (1) 100 -120 meter Jetty, and (2) medium size floating barge
with a crane. This plan has been recommended by the ARDAA Board of Directors and endorsed by the
elders, authorities and intellectuals of the Adal regions unanimously. Furthermore, the elders, authorities
and community leaders in Somaliland, while endorsing and encouraging this project, took upon
themselves to tackle the other necessary infrastructures, particularly the roads network, locally.
In early spring of 2008, about 54,000 square kilometers of Awdal and Salal regions were devastated by
unusually freezing acid rains and torrential storms. 22 people were killed, 29 villages were destroyed and
141 families lost all of their livestock, which were estimated to exceed 400,000 sheep, goats and camel.
ARDAA, then AACNA, was really tested at its very early stages of formation with the devastation caused
by freezing acid rains. However, the membership and community responded positively and raised close to
US $100,000 in a period of less than a week.
ARDAA Board of Directors coordinated the emergency relief and Diaspora contributions. Over
126 tons of food was distributed to 122,351 people and 1,410 livestock animals were bought and
distributed to the 141 families who lost everything in the 9 villages that were hit hardest by the
natural disaster.
In the aftermath of the freezing acid rains in 2008, and at the conclusion of the highly successful Ottawa
Convention in July 2009, the organization has transitioned itself into a new phase of a comprehensive restructuring
and capacity building process. The goal was to establish strong, transparent, and sustainable
organization with all the generic systems of governance as well as operations in place. This has been
achieved by the empowerment of the grassroots community. Local chapters were formed throughout
North America. These chapters have created a sense of ownership and a general feeling of belonging and
sharing common interest, which energized the base. ARDAA has now become an icon of the community
in the diaspora. It has gone international. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) chapter led the way for the
non-North American participation.
Since the failure of the Somali Nation, Adalites have committed themselves to taking the destiny of
development in their own hands. They have a proven record of accomplishments. They have built high
schools, universities, hospitals, water catch basins and much more. ARDAA would like to congratulate
the efforts and important developmental milestones as well as success stories achieved by our
organizations: Amoud University (first of its kind in the region), IQRA (Gab boarding school), Amoud
Foundation (Al-Hayatt Health Centre), and more recently ASARDA (roads network), and many other
grass-roots agencies. We look forward to working with all our organizations in the very near future and to
celebrating, together, yet another but critically important life changer, the Lughaya Seaport.

Current conditions of Lughaya port
Proposed short-term Lughaya port Equipment
The jetty will be mainly used by the fishing boats on one side. It will also serve commercial on/off
loading on the other side. The jetty must be firm enough to anchor dhows and up to medium-size
commercial boats from the gulf. The floating barge will be the temporary mobile port facility.
Adal Resources and Development Assistance Association (ARDAA)
Contact E-mail: info@ardaa.org
May 17, 2010
ARDAA is a non-profit, community-based umbrella organization established in 2007 in North America.
This organization was formed to support socio-economic development projects in the Adal regions, to
coordinate resources and other efforts through fundraising, training, capacity building, and to unite the
community through leadership development, public relations and advocacy.