February 3, 2026

 

Taiwan-led consortium breaks ground on livestock quarantine zone in Berbera, Somaliland

 

A Taiwan-led consortium has broken ground on a US$20 million livestock quarantine zone in the Somaliland port of Berbera, marking Taipei's first major private-sector investment play in the de facto independent state.

 

Developed by the Taipei-based Central Sky International Trading Co – a diversified trading company specialising in agricultural products – the venture aims to modernise livestock export infrastructure and strengthen regional supply chains linked to Gulf markets.

 

Somaliland is one of East Africa's largest livestock exporters, primarily supplying cattle, sheep, goats, and camels to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The country's annual exports of 2.35 million head are valued at US$160 million, but modernisation has become imperative as international markets impose stricter quarantine and certification standards.

 

To address these requirements, Central Sky is developing an 88-hectare facility equipped with automated quarantine platforms and digital traceability systems. The project will leverage Taiwanese electronic identification technology to track livestock, alongside solar photovoltaic power and bio-circulation waste treatment systems to ensure sustainable operations.

 

Central Sky has already signed agreements with several major Middle Eastern meat-processing and abattoir groups, positioning the project to support a supply of up to one million head of livestock annually once fully operational. Headwater Capital, a Taiwanese venture firm, led the investment structure, which involves domestic, Saudi Arabian, and American capital.

 

The first phase of construction will continue until the third quarter of 2026, paving the way for operational testing later in the year.

 

Full commercial operations are expected to begin in early 2027.

 

- Nanyang Technological University Singapore