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Garowe Airport (General Mohamed Abshir International, GGR)
General Mohamed Abshir International Airport (IATA GGR, ICAO HCGR) serves Garowe, Puntland's capital, about 12 km from the city centre. It opened in 2010 after seven years of building in a public-private partnership, and the Kuwait Fund later paid $6 million for a new 2,200-metre runway, terminal and tower. It is named after Mohamed Abshir Muse, the first chief of the Somali police.
At a glance
- Codes: IATA GGR, ICAO HCGR; OurAirports also keeps the older identifier HCMW (OurAirports).
- Where: about 12 km from the centre of Garowe, the capital of Puntland in the Nugaal region, at 8.46° N, 48.57° E and about 1,465 feet (447 metres) above sea level (Wikipedia, Garowe Airport; OurAirports).
- 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). Puntland's president at the time was Abdirahman Farole; a Cosob Air flight was among the first to land on opening day (Somalia Online forum report).
The Kuwait Fund project
Puntland's representative to Kuwait, Faisal Hawar, signed an agreement in Dubai with a Kuwaiti company to develop the airport and Maakhir University, worth $10 million and financed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) (Garowe Online). In October 2013 Puntland's finance minister 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).
The airport project covers (Wikipedia):
- 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, the first commander of the Somali Police Force, who came from Garowe (Garowe Online).
Flights and incidents
Ethiopian Airlines added Garowe from mid-July 2019 (Routes Online), and AeroRoutes reported a Garowe–Dubai service planned from August 2024 (AeroRoutes, July 2024). Freedom Airline Express lists Garowe among its destinations (Freedom Air Express). On 2 December 2020 an Air Djibouti Boeing 737-500 had its main landing gear collapse on landing at Garowe (Wikipedia; Aviation Safety Network).
Nearby: Galkayo's Abdullahi Yusuf Airport to the south.
Sources
- OurAirports · ourairports.com
- Wikipedia, Garowe Airport · en.wikipedia.org
- Somalia Online forum report · somaliaonline.com
- Garowe Online · web.archive.org
- Garowe Online · garoweonline.com
- Routes Online · routesonline.com
- AeroRoutes, July 2024 · aeroroutes.com
- Freedom Air Express · freedomairexpress.so
- Aviation Safety Network · aviation-safety.net
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