Somalia – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has officially presented the Puntland State of Somalia’s Department of Immigration and its Ministry of Civil Aviation with an alternative hybrid energy supply that will ensure essential immigration and security services at the Bender Qasim International Airport in Bosaso are uninterrupted.

The hybrid energy source uses innovative solar and wind technology and is the first of its kind in the East and Horn of Africa Region.

The third largest airport in Somalia, after Aden Adde International Airport (Mogadishu) and the Hargeisa International Airport, Bender Qasim International Airport was previously powered by hydro power from a generator and grid. It experienced frequent power blackouts which would grind immigration operations to a standstill and this posed a security risk. The new hybrid energy source will provide 20 kilowatts of constant energy – ensuring that this will no longer be the case.

At the handover ceremony, Deputy Minister of Security and Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) Abdul Asis expressed his commitment to offer all necessary government support to strengthen Puntland’s porous borders. He said: “An effective border point is a paramount facility for administrative effectiveness and for efficient control and management of the movements of people and goods.”

The airport will now be provided with constant energy to security infrastructure, Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) platform that captures migrant data, visa and passport issuing processes, metal detectors and scanners.

Crucially, it will enable timely and frequent updates to the central MIDAS database server in Garowe, and a border management information system (BMIS) used in Somalia and unique to IOM. This will create an additional barrier against smuggling and trafficking in persons, help combat organized immigration crime and contribute to smoother traffic passage through Puntland.

Abdinoor Jansar, Director of the Department of Immigration at the Bender-Qasim International Airport, thanked IOM for its ‘unparalleled’ support, acknowledging that he had at worked at the airport for 10 years, and over the last 5 years – since IOM started equipping the local immigration training centre and providing training and equipment to frontline staff – he has noted remarkable improvements in service delivery at the airport.

Neil Roberts, manager of IOM Somalia’s Immigration Border Management programme, said: “IOM continues to support the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Federal Government of Somalia. In Puntland, IOM has contributed to the improvement of essential migration management capacities through the training of immigration and security officers, the provision of equipment and IT systems for passenger inspections, organizational development support of the department and infrastructural development of major regional ports-of-entry including Bosaso, Garowe and Galkacyo.”

This project was supported by the Government of Japan.

For more information, please contact Neil Roberts, IOM Somalia, Tel: +254710748264, Email: nroberts@iom.int