# Garowe Airport (General Mohamed Abshir International, GGR)

> Garowe's General Mohamed Abshir International Airport (GGR/HCGR): opening in 2010, the Kuwait Fund runway project, name, flights and incidents.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/infrastructure/garowe-airport/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## At a glance

- **Codes:** IATA GGR, ICAO HCGR; OurAirports also keeps the older identifier HCMW ([OurAirports](https://ourairports.com/airports/HCMW/)).
- **Where:** about 12 km from the centre of Garowe, the capital of [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/) in the [Nugaal](/en/regions/nugaal/) region, at 8.46° N, 48.57° E and about 1,465 feet (447 metres) above sea level ([Wikipedia, Garowe Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garowe_Airport); [OurAirports](https://ourairports.com/airports/HCMW/)).
- **Run by:** Puntland's Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports (same Wikipedia article).

## Built by Garowe, opened in 2010

The airport opened officially in 2010 under Puntland's Ministry for Civil Aviation and Airports. Its first phase took seven years to build through a public-private partnership, with the Garowe-based Mubarak construction company doing much of the work ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garowe_Airport)). Puntland's president at the time was [Abdirahman Farole](/en/people/abdirahman-farole/); a Cosob Air flight was among the first to land on opening day ([Somalia Online forum report](http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/showthread.php/39120-Garowe-International-Airport-opened-today-by-President-Farole-Cosob-Air-lands-today)).

## The Kuwait Fund project

Puntland's representative to [Kuwait](/en/diaspora/kuwait/), Faisal Hawar, signed an agreement in Dubai with a Kuwaiti company to develop the airport and [Maakhir](/en/history/warsangali-sultanate/) University, worth $10 million and financed by the **Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development** (KFAED) ([Garowe Online](https://web.archive.org/web/20140416090203/http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia-Kuwaiti-Company-to-construct-Airport-University-in-Puntland.shtml)). In October 2013 Puntland's finance minister [Farah Ali Jama](/en/people/farah-ali-jama/) and KFAED deputy director Hamad Al-Omar signed the grant in Kuwait: $6 million for the airport and the rest for the university ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garowe_Airport)).

The airport project covers ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garowe_Airport)):

- a new paved runway about 2,200 metres long and 45 metres wide;
- a two-floor passenger terminal of about 1,000 square metres for 120 passengers;
- a 25-metre control tower, a 50-metre-wide taxiway and a 100 by 200 metre apron;
- runway lighting, drainage, a fire station, a 2.5-metre fence and safety equipment, with design and supervision services.

## The name

After its inauguration the airport was renamed for Major General **[Mohamed Abshir Muse](/en/people/mohamed-abshir-muse/)**, the first commander of the [Somali Police Force](/en/institutions/somali-police-force/), who came from Garowe ([Garowe Online](https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/puntland/somalia-garowe-airport-named-after-first-police-force-commander)).

## Flights and incidents

Ethiopian Airlines added Garowe from mid-July 2019 ([Routes Online](https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/285182/ethiopian-airlines-adds-garowe-service-from-mid-july-2019/)), and AeroRoutes reported a Garowe–Dubai service planned from August 2024 ([AeroRoutes, July 2024](https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240731-d3aug24ggrdxb)). Freedom Airline Express lists Garowe among its destinations ([Freedom Air Express](https://freedomairexpress.so/destinations/)). On 2 December 2020 an Air Djibouti Boeing 737-500 had its main landing gear collapse on landing at Garowe ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garowe_Airport); [Aviation Safety Network](https://aviation-safety.net/database/airport/airport.php?id=GGR)).

Nearby: [Galkayo's Abdullahi Yusuf Airport](/en/infrastructure/abdullahi-yusuf-airport-galkayo/) to the south.

---
I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.