The Vice President of the Republic of Somaliland, His Excellency Abdurrahman Abdullah Ismail “Saylici” ,together with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hon Hussein Abdi Dualeh, jointly laid the foundation stone for an ultra-modern Ministry of Energy and Minerals headquarters during a well-attended ceremony Sunday
Honorable Hussein Abdi Dualeh , Somaliland Minister of Energy and Minerals speaking during the ceremony said , “I am very happy today to see the moment come for the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Resources to finally get a new Headquarters, and all this comes after a long wait combined by hard work and much persuasion which we finally succeeded in convincing the multinational companies to assist in contributing the funds for the construction of the new ministry headquarters and on behalf of the people of Somaliland , I say once again thank you for generosity.
“As you all are aware of our national budget is slim and not to forget that other ministries had also their applications for construction of new headquarters in the pipeline waiting to be processed and considering the fact the former premises housing the previous headquarters ministry of energy was constructed at a time when we were still a British colony that what prompted us to find other sources of funds hence our appeal to the multinationals to assist us in this endeavors and being our partners they wholeheartedly agreed to support us by contributing the funds”, he said.
Hon Hussein Abdi Dualeh added, “Today we gather here to witness history because the groundbreaking ceremony symbolizes a transition period the demolished premises will be replaced by a new ultra-modern building which will be built by the construction firm which won the bidding process of which we (Ministry of Energy and Minerals Resources) had no say in the bidding process and selection in any way whatsoever because the whole was the process was being monitored by the National Tender Board.
“I would also like to use this opportunity to thank “RIO Architects” the firm responsible the design and also laud Mr. Mohamed Bashir, the architect for ingenuity presenting us with his innovating design for the proposed building which will house the new Ministry of Energy and Minerals, I believe meets international standards”, he concluded.
Vice President His Excellency Abdurrahman Abdullah Ismail “Saylici” speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony began by saying, “First and foremost I would like on behalf of the people and government of Somaliland to thank all those partner companies which have contributed the funds towards this project and of which through their generosity and I would like to commend the efforts asserted by all the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Resources officials starting by the Minister himself who apart from being one of the most diligent civil servants in the country; I must reckon the sacrifices he made in making realization became a reality.”
The Vice Minister equally thanked the National Tender Board for screening bidding companies to finally pick out a winner to carry out the construction specifications and designs RIO Architects drew following the directions of the contractor and the funding agencies.
The funds were availed by oil exploration companies namely RAKGAS , DNO, JACKA RESOURCES, GENEL, STERLING RESOURCES, all of whom have entered oil exploration and extraction contracts with Somaliland.
This latest support to the Somaliland Ministry for Energy and Mineral Resources is seen as a vote of confidence for the ministry and the Republic of Somaliland on the part of the oil exploration companies which augurs well for the long-awaited commencement of drilling operations soon.
(Content Source: Somalilandpress with Somtribune contributing in part)
