Why hasn’t the Somaliland Electricity Recovery Project been fully implemented yet

Economy, Development & Health Economy, Development & Trade
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Somaliland Electricity Recovery Project – Why the Delays?

Somaliland has received an important share of the World Bank’s Electricity Sector Recovery Project, with about $50 million promised to improve energy access across the regions. The project is designed to reduce the high cost of electricity, expand connections to schools and hospitals, and build a stronger foundation for renewable energy such as solar and wind.

Yet, even though the funds were announced years ago, the full implementation in Somaliland has been much slower than expected. Tenders have been opened, but in many areas the projects are still waiting to start. This raises a serious question: why has the progress been delayed, and what is holding back the benefits from reaching ordinary citizens?

Recently, a high-level Somaliland delegation led by Dr. Shucayb Osman Mahmoud, Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, and Mohamed Mahmoud Abdi (Malow), Director General of the Somaliland Energy Commission, met with the World Bank in Nairobi to evaluate mid-term progress. They reviewed achievements so far, such as the Berbera electricity expansion launched in March 2025 and the tender process for Borama. The Ministry also presented new policies, including a 10-year energy strategy and the Somaliland Energy Law, showing clear plans for a more reliable and affordable energy sector.

At the same time, the new government in Somaliland has taken steps to reduce electricity costs in cities like Berbera, Burco, and Borama. These actions show that there is real political will to ease the burden on households and businesses. But without faster progress on the larger recovery project, many families will continue to pay some of the highest electricity prices in the region.

The question remains: if Somaliland has the funds, the policies, and the strategies, what is stopping the project from moving forward? Is it political coordination, donor conditions, or gaps in local implementation capacity? And more importantly, what will the future look like if Somaliland cannot fully benefit from this rare opportunity to transform its energy sector?

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I think, this was the same project that President Irro was talking about when he recently visited Berbera. This project almost shelved by the World Bank until President Irro rescued it. From what I understand, the projecti is going ahead and Berbera will get around $20m upgrade to its electricity system including batteries for night time power. The rest of the month is divided between Hargeisa and Borama.

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electricty is very expensive , power plants are not cheap and one of the most costly things that somaliland would purchase it cost 1 million dollars per megawatts for a power plant that make power and is reliable , reliable is a key word for power plants it make power that does not break that easy , it cost 1 megawatts around 1 million dollars so a power station with 1000 megawatts is 1 billion dollars and somaliland needs around 40000 megawatts around 40 billion dollars of power stations high cost , somaliland has solar , and generators of around 1 megawatt , trucks and cars make around 0.2 megawatts and power a few homes , so power stations hard in africa where big countrys buld for 1 megawatt for 1 million that does not break down easy, somaliland with oil means that diesel generators can be made that make around 200 megawatts quite cheaply and install on their own , somaliland did not build small power planets with diesel generator where many many country have been made , with oil somaliland trade oil for deisel and power its country with diesal power similar to saudi arabia that uses diesel to power big power stations of around 4000 megawatts of power , somaliland uses low power simiar to maldives in indian ocean and power should more , power stations are not cheap and one of the most expensive things that somaliland would by at 1 million per megawatts