The new Immigration Department building at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport was officially handed over on Sunday 14, January. Built on behalf of the Somali Department of Immigration by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the project was funded by the Japanese Government. |
| Mogadishu Aden Adde Airport (SKA) |
The ceremony was attended by senior Government officials from the Ministry of Interior and National Security, Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Transportation, Department of Immigration, Civil Aviation as well as the national Somali police.
The new immigration building will enable immigration officers assigned to Aden Adde International Airpor to effectively deliver integrated border management services and contains over-night stay rooms for immigration officers who start their shifts in the early morning, a training room, offices for the airport manager as well as consultants working with the Department of Immigration.
Mr. Toshihisa Takata, Ambassador of Japan in Nairobi, Kenya said:
“The Government of Japan has been cooperating with IOM for five (5) years to enhance the border management capacity in Somalia, which is crucial to stabilize the nation and improve security. I hope the people working at the respective border management offices will increase their efficiency and effectiveness of their work by using the new facilities we have contributed to.”
Source [IOM]
Furthermore, the IOM has installed Personal Identification and Registration Systems (PIRS) at the airport and the sea port for immigration services. The database registers passport details and fingerprints of travellers.
In late 2010, SKA Air and Logistics, a Dubai-based aviation firm that specializes in conflict zones, was contracted by the Transitional Federal Somali Government to manage operations over a period of ten years at the re-opened Aden Adde International Airport.